The Invisible
by ImYourChristianMingleBuddy
Summary: This is a TVD version of the movie 'the Invisible' whereas Caroline Forbes is Nick Powell. Something traumatic happens to Caroline and suddenly no one can see her. While the werewolves fight to break the curse, Stefan races against time to save Caroline.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This chapter begins at the end of the episode 'Daddy Issues' where Caroline is taken hostage and tortured by the werewolves. Stefan has already walked her home and told Tyler to get the hell out of her house. Some of the beginning conversation does take place in the normal TVD universe. I just altered it a bit. Also, _all _the characters in this AU are just friends except for Bonnie/Luka and Jenna/Alaric.  
_

**Disclaimer: Don't try this at home. Wait... I don't own this.  
**

THE INVISIBLE

1

What happened? What changed? Everything used to be so simple but now? It felt as though these new pair of shoes she was forced into wearing would never be completely broken in. She realized it would take time to truly adjust to all the luggage and risks that came with being a vampire, and one who was close to those damn Salvatore brothers at that, but reality was beginning to really set in for her lately. It was becoming more apparent everyday that trouble followed them everywhere. And now it was following her.

Caroline raised her chin under the showerhead as she ran her hands back through her hair. Blood from fresh wounds all over her body ran red streams down the drain, and she tried not to look. She tried breathing with her eyes closed just for a second to imagine being anyone else on earth. A normal person. A _person_. Someone whose worst worry in the world was anything other than being kidnapped and tortured by a pack of werewolves. She didn't want to get involved in the whole moonstone, doppelganger, curse thing, but for Elena's sake she had to.

She _had_ to be involved to help insure her friend's safety. Caroline couldn't live with herself otherwise. If something were to happen to her and in one way or another she could have helped her, she just couldn't. Elena was like a sister to her, and best friends didn't walk away because they were scared. Though after what happened to her tonight, she was afraid for her life. This whole curse situation would be resolved one way or another, but that unknown 'how' was what frightened her.

And Tyler? A day ago, she had never been so sure of their friendship, but no more. The only reason Damon killed his uncle was because he was collaborating with Katherine Pierce who by all means wanted her and Elena dead. For a reason she would never understand, Katherine got some strange enjoyment out of tormenting the Salvatores, so it wasn't so much them that she worried about. Caroline hoped Stefan was able to get through to him, turn him to their side, the _right_ side, but obviously there was no hope in that department. If it were up to him alone to save her with Jules whispering in his ear, she would have died there tonight. She knew it. That's why when he came by earlier after Stefan left she couldn't have made it any clearer to him what he was to her now. _Nothing._

After throwing on a pair of light blue pajama bottoms and a maroon spaghetti strap shirt, Caroline walked over to the dresser in her bedroom to wrap her hair up in a messy bun in front of the mirror. Her eyes looked terrible. Dark. Exhausted. She guessed that's what happened when a person was in so much distress that spilling enough tears to characterize the pain was an impossible task. That was the kind of suffering she had to live through today. The kind of suffering she would have to live through forever… because a large part of her being was still human, and things like this weren't so easy to move on from.

Just as she was fixing to lay down for bed, with one knee planted on the mattress as she pulled back the comforter, a couple raps at the door made her body grow tense. Her mom wasn't home, and even so it wasn't like there was anything she could do as a human to protect her from a werewolf invasion. Caroline herself was hundreds of times faster _and _stronger than Elizabeth Forbes, but still, having her mom around always did make her feel safe to some extent. She snatched the black robe from the chair in front of her dresser before cautiously making her way toward the other side of the house.

Once she got to the end of the hallway, she peeked around the corner and caught sight of Damon on her doorstep through the front door window. He was just about the last person she expected to see knocking at her door at such a late hour, but as she rounded the corner, she noticed Stefan also standing there beside him. Stefan had walked her home earlier that evening after everything that happened, but after she left him to go shower she assumed that would be the last time she saw him that night.

Confused, she wrapped herself up in her robe to hide her PJs, and as she made her way down the hall, she gave Damon, whose eyes bulged sarcastically at her through the window, a pleasant look.

She wearily opened the door, thoroughly examining the boys in her doorway. "Hey… " she said, shaking her head at them and hoping with every fiber of her being that nothing else tragic happened that night. "What's going on?"

"He was a bit worried about you," Damon asserted colorlessly, throwing his head Stefan's way as if to just lay out there that he was the only one. His brother cleared his throat at him, obviously against his sibling's refusal to admit his own obscured concern.

"_We_ were a bit worried about you," Stefan corrected, nodding once at her. "After everything you went through tonight." Caroline smiled softly at him.

She _was _feeling particularly miserable, but she thought she did a good enough job of lying to him earlier about being okay with everything. Clearly she didn't though because here he was again for the second time tonight with _Damon_ who was really putting into perspective just how despondent she must have appeared earlier. If it was anything like she felt on the inside, she could see why Stefan felt the need to come back. He was a really good friend that way.

"I'm fine," she insisted quietly, glancing between the two and still slightly confused by the visit.

Stefan nodded approvingly at her fixed resolve, though it was clear he disbelieved every 'I'm fine' she'd told him that night. There was a lot about Caroline that changed since she was turned, but one thing that remained the same was how hopelessly stubborn she was. Denial was unhealthy for anyone and remaining in such an ineffectual stage of grief by choice couldn't be any better.

"Good," Stefan gently went on. "But... just in case-"

"We brought popcorn," Damon finished as he revealed a bag of Pop-Secret from behind his back. His expression grew serious. "And if those damn mutts are stupid enough to even _think _about trying anything again so soon," he shrugged, "Figured we ought to stick together tonight." Caroline stared silently at them for what felt like a long time.

Damon hadn't really shown genuine concern for her other than that not too long ago time when her mother disowned her after discovering she was a vampire, and Stefan, well, he was always caring and sharing so the gesture from the both of them was extremely tear-inducing. A rare sentiment from Damon didn't feel right to dismiss, and Stefan… he was just flat-out breaking her heart right now with those overly caring eyes of his.

Caroline frowned as tears spilt from her heavy, red eyes, and the two began stepping in upon seeing her faltering façade. They came closer at once and stepped into her open arms to provide the warm comfort she truly needed that night. Bonnie was MIA lately doing witch-y things with the focus of her newest infatuation, Luka, and Elena was busy dodging her biological father who'd come back to town apparently a _changed man_, so. It was really nice to be in the company of friends. Well, _a_ friend and Damon. He still had some growing on her to do.

It felt good at least to hold close the two people who truly understood her pain and suffering. The ones who could too easily relate to the tragedy that came with being the damned creatures they were. Caroline sniffled on Stefan's shoulder and Damon gave her a friendly pat on the back before pulling away.

Though struggling to compose herself, she gripped Stefan's wrists with all the strength that she had where his hands still rested on either side of her waist. He nodded at her, wiping a tear from her cheek as Damon shut the door behind them. Caroline pulled Stefan back into her arms with more appreciation than he would ever understand.

* * *

As morning set in, a different light was cast on the Forbes' residence. There was a warm, comforting aura throughout the house overwhelming the air conditioning. It was a new day. If everything went back to normal, life in Mystic Falls would still be immensely screwed up, but things would certainly be better than yesterday.

Damon's eyes gradually cracked open as sunlight poured through the windows. A bright stripe of light spread over his face so he kept his eyes nearly closed until he finally leaned up on his arms.

He rubbed his surprisingly sore head. "What the hell?" He grunted.

Caroline woke to find herself half-sprawled across Stefan's lap on the couch with her hands nestled together under her head at the other end of the couch. Her eyes cracked open and his voice instantly sparked fury through her as exhaustion demanded she remain asleep.

"_Shh_… " She hushed, and waved her hand at him to be quiet. Damon looked up at her with a perfect case of bed head and scowled at her and Stefan fidgeting on the soft cushiony couch while he was somehow laid out on the floor.

How that happened, he had no recollection, and how Stefan was able to fall asleep sitting up like that was even more perplexing. He remembered Caroline sitting in the middle of the couch, Stefan on her left side, and him on her right. She must have kicked him off sometime in her sleep because he distinctly remembered falling asleep on the couch. She looked a little _too _situated in his spot to be innocent.

Caroline pulled her knees up to her chest, and upon feeling the movement, Stefan lifted his head from the back of the couch to examine her with his eyes half closed with fatigue. The few times he'd checked on her throughout the night, she was sound asleep. No signs of nightmares or emotional distress caused by the other night and for the most part, she didn't really move at all. To him she seemed perfectly at peace until now. And that was good. Agitation caused by Damon was normal and probably good for her at this point. Better to get back to normal sooner than later.

A sound came from the front of the house and Caroline shot up, completely forgetting how tired she was in that one instant. It was the sound of the door closing, and that scary fact made the girl shoot a busted look at Stefan.

"Uh-oh," Damon said quietly, careful not to let his voice travel past their ears. "That would be my cue." Caroline blinked and in an instant, the grinning vampire was no longer sitting on the floor and a small breeze alerted her of his departure. She sighed at his lack of goodbye although she couldn't say she was ungrateful how fast he was to keep her out of trouble.

No matter how close they were, they were still two boys sleeping over at her house and her mom still owned an assortment of off duty guns. It wasn't in their intentions to stay the night, but when Liz never showed and it got later and later, a marathon of _really _bad Syfy channel movies turned into an innocent sleepover. Caroline rolled her head over to Stefan sympathetically and he nodded at her understandingly. Her mother would not see it as 'innocent'.

"You going to be okay?" He asked and in no hurry to rush out like his brother had. Damon was good friends with her mother, so she assumed risking that friendship to defend a pity sleepover party with her daughter wasn't worth the trouble. She didn't mind. He kept her company, enough to distract her, and it was enough that he felt the need to come over at all.

Caroline sat up to cross her legs on the couch and nodded at him with the softest smile. "Yeah," she answered quietly. "I'll be okay." Stefan nodded in return, reaching over to warmly touch her arm before the sound of incoming footsteps made him just another breeze in her hair. A faint smile crossed Caroline's lips when Liz stepped into view and her mother stopped to stare at her in surprise.

"Oh. Didn't expect to see you up. What's the occasion?" She teased as she headed over toward the kitchen in her usual police uniform. Six a.m. _was _a little early for Caroline even on a school day, but it wasn't by choice. She set her keys down on the kitchen counter when Caroline leaned her arm over the back of the couch to speak.

"No reason. Just thought I'd get an early start," she lied. Though, an early start could definitely be arranged. It would be a good distraction to get out and do something with her friends after school. Elena would probably be up for it considering the whole John Gilbert thing. She wasn't too sure about Bonnie. Maybe Stefan.

"Sorry, I didn't come home last night. Looked like some kid thought it'd be funny to cut my damn fan belt, so I was stuck at the station until about two in the morning, and _then _we got a call about gunshots out by that old cemetery in the woods somewhere. Sorry. Long night."

Gunshots. Figured someone heard. Caroline sighed, relieved that they weren't able to find the source of the shots. Threatening to handcuff a bunch of wild werewolves was never a good idea. Her entire life was like that show Fatal Attractions where people chose to live with the kind of exotic animals that could very well go off on them because it was in their nature. To survive. To kill. Not to love. Even her mother being here with _her _was dangerous. Sometimes she felt hungry in a disturbing way and had to get away before something ugly took over her. It was a nasty thought, which was why she was even more grateful they hadn't found them last night.

Caroline shook her head to assure her mother that she was fine with it. They didn't have the closest relationship anyway. She slept here alone many nights before while her mother spent most nights at work. Nothing different.

"You want some breakfast?" She offered. Caroline looked up at her and her stomach seemed to come alive in that moment. Yes, she did want breakfast. Just not what she had to offer.

"No thanks," she said, quickly hopping off the couch and heading out toward her room. "I'm gonna get dressed and head out." Liz watched as she disappeared around the corner, and as she stepped out of view Caroline rubbed her stomach hungrily.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Tyler rushed up to the Gilbert house and pounded on the front door. Caroline hated him. He doubted Stefan would still be as understanding with him after what happened last night, though Tyler never liked the guy to begin with, and he was pretty sure Damon still wanted him dead, too. It felt like the sky was falling. Like everyone he knew in this town was turning against him. And they were. He couldn't even go to his own mother for support because even though he was positive she knew what he was, she wouldn't care. They never addressed the issue directly, but he knew she knew. She could fake concern at times but that's not what he needed. He needed a friend and that Jules chick just wasn't cutting it. She was even more screwed up than he was and she was screwing him up worse.

A few desperate bangs later, and Jeremy appeared in the doorway with a backpack half slung over his shoulder. He was fixing to head to school when Tyler showed up, but forgetting for a moment just how annoying the nonstop knocking was, Jeremy's exasperation lightened at the sight of his lately absent friend.

"Oh, hey, man. Haven't seen you around in awhile," he started but as Tyler began stepping in without waiting for an invitation, his reaction to his impromptu appearance transformed into a concerned frown. "Uh… What's up?"

Tyler raised his hands to his head, pacing anxiously in front of the stairs. "I don't know," he said nervously and stopped pacing to shake his head wide-eyed at the boy in front of him.

"You don't know what?" He had no idea what he was talking about. Elena told him what happened to Caroline, but she hadn't told him of Tyler's involvement.

They were actually becoming good friends, and she didn't want Jeremy questioning their friendship because Tyler was having trouble deciding which side to conform to. Things were hard on the young werewolf, and the last thing he needed, she knew, was one less friend. All Jeremy knew was that Stefan went to talk to him, to try and keep him from doing something he'd regret with the werewolves, but after that he hadn't heard anything. They kept him in the dark about a lot of things, mostly due to Elena's insistence that he stay out of everything as much as he possibly could. He thought they kidnapped Caroline because of what happened to Mason, and also, they hated vampires. That much was true.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Jeremy. I don't know what to believe, or who to trust." They locked eyes and Tyler froze, shaking his head as he tried to fight the tears threatening to completely destroy his composure. "I didn't know where else to go." Jeremy carefully observed how upset he was, not knowing what to say, and Tyler shook his hand at him, at an even bigger loss for words than he was.

* * *

Caroline checked the porch mailbox before leaving for school. She didn't bother saying goodbye to her mother before taking off, but she was probably asleep by now anyway, and Liz was never really included in her morning school routine. After sifting through the letters and finding nothing special in particular, she tossed everything back in the box and hurried over to her Volvo parked in the driveway.

The ride to school was short and now that her wounds had fully healed, she was already feeling back to normal. Especially since Stefan and Damon helped her get a good night's sleep knowing she was safe. She was grateful for Damon after that, however reluctant he was to admit any kind of concern for her. The _both _of them were real friends to her last night, and she appreciated that more than anything. She just wished Elena and Bonnie had been there as well. She missed spending time with them outside of all the doom and gloom.

Caroline was heading inside to get to class when a voice called her name, and she looked over her shoulder to see Elena rushing up to meet her.

"Elena!" She said just as the girl smashed a hug into her with more power than such a skinny human should be capable of. Caroline giggled and happily submitted to the affection as they continued inside the school together.

"Oh my god," she said with more furious brow movements than Damon (if that was possible). "I was so worried about you! I'm sorry I didn't call. I had a long night with _John _and ugh, everything just got so _complicated…_ How _are _you?"

"I'm good," she smiled, nodding at her to ease her concern. "I'm really good. I mean the whole _Hostile _experience isn't exactly fun, but you know, might as well get used to it. Nothing like getting kidnapped by a pack of angry Chihuahuas who think they're bigger than they actually are." Caroline bumped her arm playfully to belittle the seriousness of what they did to her to get a half-smile out of Elena. She truly hated that scowl on her friend's face that seemed to take a permanent spot in her life ever since all the madness began in Mystic Falls.

It made everybody sad.

"They're _no_ Chihuahuas," she scowled and that was it. There it was. Caroline sighed. There really seemed to be no way of lightening the mood with Elena these days, and she guessed she couldn't blame her. With everything going on and all.

"Well, I don't care," she said, and threw her hands out to demonstrate how finished she was with the topic. "I am so over _werewolves _and _moonstones _and _doppelgangers_, et cetera et cetera… No offence." Elena shook her head. "Just… I want to get my life back to the way it was before all this paranormal upheaval came crashing down on the most boring small town _in the history _of _boring small _towns." She chuckled. Elena smiled. "I get that I have all of eternity to do that, it's just… I want to go back to my normal life just for a little while you know?" She nodded with understanding as they came across Caroline's Spanish class in the hallway and stopped.

Elena touched her arm caringly. "Yeah, I can identify with that a little too much," she said. "I get it. I know what you're going through is hard, but you gotta hang in there, okay? It'll get easier." Caroline nodded, lowering her head a little as a sudden weight began building itself on her shoulders. This was her life now. Things like last night were going to happen all the time. She doubted it would ever get any easier.

At the risk of sounding rude, she _was_ hanging in there just fine before Elena went all maternal on her like she always did with everyone. She didn't want to think about how badly Jules and Brady treated her or how ugly it made her feel inside, but Elena was forcing her to reflect. Caroline didn't want to think about it. She _wouldn't_. Not now… not while she had forever to put it off.

* * *

They were disgusting. All of them. Those monstrous vampires that tried so hard to act like they were human. Like they weren't driven every second of their eternal lives to kill all those people around them… and even more those closest to them. Jules had the same urges sometimes, only she didn't try to hide it or play pretend. She knew what she was. A monster. A wolf. Just because she looked human that didn't mean that was all she was_._

It was the reason she and Brady got along so well. They saw eye to eye. They accepted who they were without fussing over emotions or taking to humans like a couple of inside dogs. Those Salvatore brothers were no different than they were. If they were really going to follow through with the _kill or be killed _scenario then someone had to go, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be them. Last night was a practice run. She didn't care who that warlock was that attacked them last night or how strong he thought he was. They had a lot more friends in Florida, and as a pack, they would all kill for one another. They would get what was coming to them, and they wouldn't need a _witch_ to back them up.

Now standing there amidst the lifeless bodies of some of their closest friends, she felt grief attacking her instincts. Brady, she could see, was fighting a similar need to tear down every last door in town until that scatterbrained friend of Tyler's was back in their possession. Because Jules wanted her _dead_. She wanted to kill _all _of them to avenge her fallen friends. She would be much happier that way. She would be happy that way period.

As the youngest of their pack, Stevie, stood there explaining to them about the Sun and Moon Curse and Mason's involvement with Katherine, Jules and Brady gave him their full attention. Nothing else in the world was more important than this. If the vampires broke the curse like they believed Stefan and Damon were planning to do, then the vampires would be able to walk in the sun. On the other hand, if the werewolves were to break the curse, they would be free to change whenever they wanted. Ergo, never again.

"Witches, vampires, moonstone. They're putting everything in place to break the curse," Stevie said. He tucked his hands beneath his underarms after nervously crossing his arms.

Brady's expression was fiercely set. "We can't let them do that. Even if we have to kill every last vampire in this town. Starting with the one that got away." Jules locked eyes with Stevie in that moment and they both shifted. They wanted revenge just as much as he did, but with most of their friends dead, they were disadvantaged.

"Shouldn't we… um. Wait for backup? I mean, we're all pretty much dead… as it is…" Stevie's voice grew colder as he brought up those murdered around them. Their little cheap RV was surrounded by corpses in the woods where they were currently residing. "Those vampires we fought last night were strong. _Way _strong, like two _lifetimes _strong."

"Not the girl. She was weaker than the others." Stevie tapped his chin curiously. That one assumption brought about questions.

Jules nodded as she also assumed there was some kind of significance to that. "Yeah, I noticed that, too."

"You think she's a newborn?" Stevie wondered. Brady nodded once at him with confidence.

"I know she is. Holy water only seems to affect the young ones." Jules, now interested, looked up at him.

"You think maybe the Salvatore brothers turned her so that they could kill her to break the curse?" She speculated.

Stevie shook his head. "No, that's not how it works. A vampire has to be present during the sacrifice in order to break the curse, but nowhere in my research does it say that a vampire has to die."

"Everyone's wrong sometimes." Brady glared. Stevie looked across at him, suddenly doubting how sure he was of what he'd just said.

He remembered reading something about more than a sacrifice being vital for the ritual, hence the witches and moonstone, but he didn't think to look into any other sacrificial requirements. All this time he assumed that they would only need the blood of the doppelganger. Assumptions were stupid.

"Even if we did get the girl back," Jules said. "They could just turn someone else and break the curse themselves." Stevie lifted a finger to interrupt her thought and cleared his throat.

"Actually, no," he said. "If we fail they wouldn't have time to. Not with the tutulemma coming up a.k.a. total solar eclipse. According to legend, the spell was cast under a total eclipse here in Mystic Falls and _cannot _be broken in any other place or on any other day of the year. Typically, as you may or may not know, solar eclipses occur twice every 365 days, but in order to break the spell, in _this _case, they would have one day and one day only to do it."

Jules wasn't quite on the same page yet. "Why?"

"Well. Tutulemmas are just a _little _different from regular eclipses… "

"How?" Brady pushed. Stevie tilted his head to the side and continued. Sometimes he wished he was the pretty one instead of the nerdy one.

"Total eclipses are _rare_," he said and took turns looking them both in the eyes. "They only occur once in the same place every 365 _years_." Jules looked anxiously at Brady and saw that he was already looking back, thoughts lighting up his eyes. "Vampire transformations take about a full week to complete. There wouldn't be enough time to turn someone else."

"Then we don't kill her," Jules said decidedly. "We use her to go through with the ritual." This curse situation was becoming so complicated. Hopefully that would be all of the trouble.

"One problem," he went on. He cringed when he noticed her fiery eyes on him. It wasn't his fault but the bearer of bad news was quickly growing annoying. "We still don't have a witch," he said carefully. "_Or _the doppelganger… _or _a werewolf. Unless someone is willing to volunteer."

Brady blinked slowly and when he opened his eyes back up they were on Stevie. He gave the uptight werewolf a sarcastic shrug as Brady rolled his eyes back over to Jules. Breaking the curse was proving to be a much harder task than preventing the vampires from breaking it like they originally came here to do. But it hurt too much to turn. They didn't want to anymore. There was one thing left to do and that was to devise a bigger plan.

"Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett, and the moonstone will not be a problem," Brady said. "And neither will the werewolf. Because we already have one." Stevie instantly shared a look with Jules and at first she did not understand him. She glanced between them to make sure she wasn't missing anything, like an insane plan to sacrifice one of them, and then it hit her. Slowly but surely, it became clear to her.

"_Tyler_?" She wondered out loud and shook her head in objection. "You're talking about Tyler-_no_. We can't _kill_ Mason's nephew. What makes us any different from _them_?" Jules looked at him with fear-struck eyes.

Stevie lowered his head, feeling unable to take part in this discussion. He didn't know the guy and Brady didn't really either. All he knew was that he wanted to break the curse. Who they would need for the ritual was up to them to decide.

"Mason's _nephew_," Brady answered angrily, "-sided with the _walkers _last night. If he'd chosen to fight with them? He could have gotten us all killed!"

Jules continued shaking her head in disbelief. "But he didn't," she said. "He wouldn't. No. You don't know him."

"And neither do you. The Lockwoods can't be trusted. Mason got close to a vampire and look what they did to him. He's dead. And we are _all _on that _same _trail if we trust people who trust vampires." Jules looked away and Stevie felt extremely awkward still standing there. He turned away from them to avoid getting sucked into the couple's argument, glancing over his shoulder every little bit while Brady looked closer to having the final say.

Jules didn't really have an argument. She'd only known Tyler for about a month, give or take, and she wasn't in any position to defend him. She was the one who put her trust in him, and Tyler was the one who threw it back at her. It didn't matter what his reasons were for letting Caroline go last night, it wouldn't change anything. He chose a vampire over his own kind. She was a friend, okay. But a friend who was involved with the Salvatores who were trying to run them out of town and break the curse. What he did was unacceptable.

Brady always took care of the pack. Protected them. Taught them how to turn and where it was safe. They rarely ever disagreed with him, but Jules was having trouble dealing with this one. She loved him. She really did. But she didn't want to kill Tyler. It felt too wrong even for them. She hadn't seen him since he hurriedly passed on the warlock's warning about leaving town and then took off last night to God knows where. Probably to the vampire's house… He seemed nervous and frankly frightened by what they'd done to Caroline and worse after seeing what Stefan and Damon had done to _them_. There were so few of them left.

When he called her yesterday afternoon yelling 'HELP' into the phone before the line cut off, the only thing she could think to do was react. She had to do something to get him out of whatever predicament he was in and abducting Caroline last night seemed like a pretty solid way of assuring his safety.

Until he let her loose and put them all in danger.

"He's right," Stevie said cautiously. Jules looked across at him suddenly as his voice startled her. She hadn't expected him to say anything regarding this matter. Brady raised his chin at him as if proud he chose to side with him. "I know you wanted to look after him, Jules… after what happened with Mason… but we need a werewolf. And he chose them."

While Jules' eyes fell overwhelmed to the ground, Brady stepped forward and put a hand up softly against the side of her face. She didn't look at him. "Look around you." She glanced to her right where corpses were laid out by a fire. "They killed our family, Jules. We have to get them back." She looked up at him and she couldn't look away. He was holding her eyes there, changing her mind.

"Plan?" Stevie asked. He tried not to sound so unsure of his decision, but the guy was acting a bit revenge-driven. He didn't blame him. They all felt the same way. He just wasn't in the biggest hurry to go get himself killed like they almost had last night.

Brady was silent a moment, then spoke. "The vampire is new," he said, still holding Jules' eyes. "Which means she couldn't handle the three of us, let alone one of us. You'll go after her." He gave his eyes to Stevie. He was the youngest so he would have to go after one of the easier targets. "You'll get the witch." He looked back at Jules. "And I'll get the doppelganger. The Salvatores are more likely to fight for that one. Once we have them, we'll go after the moonstone together and the rest will be up to you. Do you understand?"

Thoughts of Tyler and their conversations swam circles in her mind. She told him she was his friend. She convinced him to trust her. They worked together, she was showing him how to control himself, his urges, his anger, his everything. Now they were thinking about killing him. She was thinking about Brady and all of those dead friends around her that _his _friends murdered. She thought about turning again, suffering through countless full moons and having to go through the pain of it again and again and again and again… until she eventually died from the pain of a transformation in her forties or fifties. Maybe sooner.

Jules looked into Brady's eyes and saw the life she wanted to have with him. A life without transformations… A life without pain… Time was running out. They only had so many days before it was too late. Before the vampires broke the curse and gained the freedom to walk in the sun and they were all killed. Even if both sides failed this time, the vampires had forever to wait for the next eclipse in another 365 years or so, and they only had so long. Future generations of werewolves relied on her decision. They had to go through with it. They had to beat them to it. They _had _to win.

Jules looked into Brady's eyes and said, "I understand."


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Scones… strawberry… Scone? Strawberry scone?"

"_Caroline_," Bonnie groaned. She uncovered her friend's eyes with her hand to reveal what Caroline had just tasted. Nothing even close to a scone. It was a raspberry frozen yogurt. The bits of icy fruit all mixed up in it was probably what she was mistaking for ice. Although, it was still beyond her how she could get scone out of yogurt.

Food wasn't smelling the same to her anymore or tasting the same for that matter. For the past few days when she could, Bonnie promised to help her remember what it all used to be like. The only thing she ever really craved anymore was blood and oddly, everything else humanly edible was becoming harder and harder to snack on to keep her cravings down. And keeping her cravings down was a must.

After what happened with Carter at the carnival and even that nurse she fed on and compelled at the hospital during the first stages of her transformation… she couldn't be too careful. With Stefan as a teacher, it was kind of hard to fail, but that didn't mean staying a straight A student was easy either. It was hopeless. Caroline felt like a tiger forced to live off grass.

"That's _three _wrong…" Bonnie muttered, "… in a row. Can't you at least smell it or even make out the texture? What's keeping you from telling these things apart? It doesn't make any sense. It's weird."

"I don't know," she frowned. "My senses are all off today, I guess." Her eyes fell to the grass where they were sitting at an outside picnic table at lunch.

"Your senses have been off for _awhile _now," Bonnie said seriously, "Have you asked Stefan about it?" She asked, squinting at her as some part of her hoped she hadn't. Caroline didn't seem to know anything yet, so she really hoped she hadn't. He didn't have _all_ the answers, but he knew most of what Caroline needed to be aware of.

Caroline rested her elbow on her lap and her chin on her hand miserably. "No, not yet," she said. "Been kind of wound up with Tyler and his 'ihowl' rallies."

Bonnie sighed at her. "You can't give up, Caroline. You have to focus on yourself. You have to keep trying."

"I know!" She snapped and growled furiously as she ran her hands back through her hair. "Ugh! That's what everyone keeps telling me! Keep trying, _Caroline_. It'll get easier, _Caroline_. No it won't."

"Yes, it will!" Bonnie pushed, scooting closer and pulling her hands in her lap. "I'm your friend and I'm not going to let you hurt anyone. I _won't_." Caroline calmed down enough to look her friend in the eyes, and for a few seconds there Bonnie actually felt as though she was getting through to her.

Caroline shook her head and said quietly, "Hurting them is not what I'm afraid of." She carefully pulled her hands away, out of Bonnie's hold, and Bonnie sat back just enough to let her know she understood what she meant. The strange, pained way she was looking at her would unsettle even the toughest of witches.

"You went through a lot last night," she said. Her voice was flat and so was her expression. No sign of fear or frustration or anything. "Anyone would be a little thrown off their game. You'll be okay." Caroline was unmoving, but the world around her was spinning.

Time went on, leaving her behind in that awful moment with her friend. Bonnie was scared for her. She could see it in her eyes, and it was the most disturbing feeling in the world to know she was causing the kind of alarm she was now seeing inside of her. Maybe she wasn't afraid of what she could do to her, but what she could very easily do to others with less supernatural abilities to protect themselves.

Caroline ran her eyes over her, and in sensing a major change in Bonnie's demeanor, she swiftly rose from the bench and hugged her textbook to her chest.

"Um, I-I have to go," Caroline uttered just before making her way back toward the school. She didn't let Bonnie see, but once her back was turned to her and she got a good enough distance away, her face changed.

A dark red color pooled out around the outside of her eyes, and her gums grew sore as a thick pair of fangs extended from her maxilla. She was _so _hungry all of the sudden. She was confused by the urge until she remembered what she did last night up until this morning. After she got home, she showered. After she showered, Stefan and Damon came over… Then she got up. And hurried out to school. She hadn't eaten at all since early yesterday morning, and that probably wasn't smart considering her body _needed_ food to fully regenerate from the night before.

Caroline groaned as her mildly good mood this morning was now being replaced by the most horrendous discomfort. She felt like she was locked back up in a cage and being shot through the heart by werewolves all over again. When she made it to the school, instead of going inside Caroline snuck around the back side of the building and ran off at full speed.

* * *

Jeremy sat with Tyler during lunch while he thoroughly explained everything that led up to what happened yesterday, starting with Jules informing him of Caroline's involvement in Mason's murder. Jeremy swallowed a few times when Tyler's anger expressed itself through some pretty hateful choices of words. What Tyler didn't know was that Jeremy had also been involved in what happened to his uncle, but now didn't seem like the time to tell him that.

Though he wanted to defend Caroline, feeling the vampires in this town (for the most part) didn't deserve such harsh criticism, Jeremy wasn't in the mood to sling it out with him. They had good reason to do what they did to Mason Lockwood. He wanted them dead, and he made it clear that it was either him or them, but Tyler wouldn't see it that way and he wasn't sure that he ever would. He was his uncle after all.

"Maybe it'd be better to just lay low for a bit," Jeremy said. "Run with your tail between your legs for awhile." He half-smiled. Tyler glared uncaringly at his sarcasm and flicked a French fry at him across the lunch table. The small fry smacked him hard right between the eyes, and Jeremy chuckled lightly, rubbing the skin.

"Shut up, Jeremy." He gave him a fake, frustrated smile and then frowned almost instantly afterward. "It's not just legends and fairytales anymore. This is real for me."

Jeremy nodded and dropped his amused grin. "All right, all right," he acquiesced. "So what are you gonna do? I wouldn't go near Damon if I were you. Guy can hold a grudge. Stefan will be more forgiving."

"Caroline wasn't," he groaned and turned away. Jeremy could see how ashamed he was of himself. He filled him in on _every_thing that happened. Even his hesitation to unlock the cage where Caroline was being held.

"Yeah, well… " He trailed off as he thought about what she had to go through because of him and how unforgiving she deserved to be. He didn't say any of that out loud though. "Give it time. From what I hear, she's had better nights." Tyler looked up at him, and Jeremy saw immediate guilt crumble his expression. "I heard about what Luka's dad said. About the werewolves leaving town. You're not thinking about going with them are you?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, obviously uncomfortable with the question.

Jeremy was bothered by that. 'I don't know' usually meant the person was in the process of deciding, meaning he _was_ thinking about it. For all they knew, Elena could be next on their list, bearing in mind she _was _the center of every catastrophe in Mystic Falls. Tyler thinking about leaving with the werewolves, for that reason alone as well as many others, was not sitting well with him.

"After everything they did, you're not actually considering it? They almost killed Stefan and Damon last night. They kidnapped Caroline and came very close to killing her too-"

"_They_ didn't kill my uncle." Tyler's agitation collided with Jeremy's uncertainty when he met his eyes, and he quickly looked away from him, shaking his head. "This place is becoming too much for me. I just _don't_… know." Jeremy slowly looked him over and then nodded at him with apprehension. He didn't like this at all.

"Yeah, okay." He stood and grabbed his backpack from the empty chair closest to him. "I gotta get to class." Jeremy walked away, leaving him there the way Tyler was fixing to abandon this town. Tyler's eyes followed him as he exited the cafeteria until he disappeared out into the hallway and vanished around the corner.

_He didn't know_.

* * *

Stefan was sitting in his fifth period history class with Alaric Saltzman when his phone buzzed, and there was a text from Elena: _Worried about Caroline. She didn't show up for class…Bonnie said she was acting weird at lunch…not answering my txts._

He stared at his phone a moment and then glanced around the classroom. Confederate tea parties weren't exactly new to him. He could skip one day of history class to make sure Caroline was okay. If Elena was worried, something was up. She had something close to a sixth sense when it came to her friends, and Alaric would understand if he needed to step away as involved as he was in everything.

Stefan cleared his throat to interrupt the lecture as politely as he could. "Excuse me. Mr. Saltzman. Could I be excused for a moment?" Before Alaric had a chance to okay the question, he gave him a meaningful look and the young history teacher understood.

He nodded at him, and on Stefan's way to the desk for a hall pass he leaned in discretely to ask, "Is everything okay?"

"I'll let you know," Stefan answered quietly. Alaric nodded once more and he continued on his way out. When Stefan stepped into the empty hallway, he closed the door behind him and checked to make sure nobody was watching before he sped out through the school.

* * *

Elena's foot was twitching nervously at her desk. She hoped Caroline was okay wherever she was. This morning she was so upbeat and determined to forget everything that happened yesterday, but clearly being tortured and nearly killed wasn't something even vampires could get over so quickly.

Her phone lit up in her lap where she held it on silent, and Stefan's name appeared at the top of the screen. She glanced up first to make sure her teacher was distracted, and then rapidly opened her inbox after finding her eyes glued to a stack of papers she was grading.

Inside was a message that read, _I'll find her_.


	4. Chapter 4

4

It was a little after school let out a couple hours later that Stefan started to worry. He tried calling Caroline's phone and checking at her house to see if maybe she wasn't up for school today but there was no sign of her. Going missing the day after going missing was incredibly close to the worst thing a person could do.

Elena contacted him again after class to see if he'd heard from her at all, but between him, Elena, and Bonnie, nothing. Stefan took off into the woods to see if maybe she went hunting where they usually did, but he wasn't having much luck there either. He was fixing to give up here and check around the police station where her mom worked when an odd crunch followed his next step and he stopped in his tracks.

Stefan lifted his foot to see what he'd just stepped on and narrowed his eyes on something small in the leaves. It was a silver ladies watch he remembered Caroline flaunting around a few months ago when her dads came into town and decided to spoil her rotten. He crouched down to examine the delicate piece of jewelry and frowned as he picked it up. Engraved on the backside of the tiny clock was her name and a heart filled with dirt.

He curled his fingers around the chain as he lifted his head to glance around through the trees. "Caroline?" He called. When he started walking again, she must have heard the leaves crunching beneath his feet because that's when she answered moments later.

"I'm here." Her voice came. Stefan turned to his left and at first didn't see her, but a closer look and he noticed her boot sticking out from a thick tree trunk. She was sitting on the other side of it.

"_Caroline_," he said relieved and jogged over to her. "Everyone's worried-where have you been?" As he came around the tree, he got a better view of her and… "Jesus… What happened to you?" Stefan dropped to his knees beside her.

Her clothes were ripped, her face was smeared with dirt, her arm was bleeding deeply where a slash had yet to heal, and her gold curls were all frizzed out. Out of everything, the wound was what had him worried. Whatever happened to her, it shouldn't still be healing unless it was extremely fresh and way worse than it looked. Stefan glanced around to make sure they were safe where they were.

"I have a headache," she told him. The way her voice was slurred and slow made her sound drunk, but he wasn't smelling any alcohol on her. He'd seen vampires suffer from a similar kind of disorientation before, which worried him. They'd all taken on the animal diet and relapsed.

"What happened?" He asked again and put a hand on her shoulder and arm as he waited intently for a response. She tried her best not to look into his eyes, but he kept staring at her with so much concern that eventually she was forced to.

"Ugh!" Caroline conceded. "I was stalking this bird through the trees-because birds are the only thing I seem to be able to _FIND _around here-and then all of the sudden it starts to fly and I'm here panicking because I'm freaking _hungry_, right? So I go for it. …Well. Apparently… " Her eyes gradually went off to the side, embarrassed. "There are random drop-offs around here…"

"_Caroline_," he scolded.

"What? How was I supposed to know? I've never gone that far out before and never again, don't worry." He leaned his head against his shoulder astounded.

"Why were you hunting out here anyway? What happened to the blood at your house?" Caroline looked away from him as her cheeks grew red. She didn't usually eat so much.

Human food kept her distracted usually, kept her from obeying her predatory instincts, but she was almost always hungry. Damon warned her once that her cravings would fluctuate and that they would almost always coincide with the kind of day she was having. If she felt bad, she would be less inclined to hold herself back from killing. If she felt great, the exact opposite reaction. She would be content. Everything lately with Tyler and the werewolves yesterday had her nerves on edge, and at the moment she wasn't feeling too hot either.

"I… ran out?" Stefan threw his hands out, flustered by her not mentioning that.

"You could have told me," he said and shook his head at her. "You have to be more careful. Here. We can go to my place and get you something to eat." Stefan stood to offer his hand but was surprised at how fast she declined it. She shook her head at him almost in warning, and he made a face at her confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she chirped, and then he noticed the leg she was clutching. He didn't realize how tightly she was holding onto it, or that she was holding onto it at all, until she shifted and the movement caused her to wince. He came closer and knelt back down to take a look at the damage. "Stefan, don't! Please."

He touched the hand that she was gripping her leg with and shook his head at her. "Caroline. You can't stay out here. It's not safe." She glowered at him. "Let me see."

Stefan very carefully removed her hand from her leg, and she hissed as a surge of pain shot up through her leg like a high voltage bolt of electricity. Caroline pushed her head back against the tree and clinched her eyes shut now while clutching her thigh with both hands. A single tear ran from her eye. Careful not to hurt her anymore than she was, Stefan ripped the leg of her pants upward from the tear at the bottom, and he couldn't help but grimace at what he saw.

Her hip must have been dislocated because her knee was turned in awkwardly and her kneecap looked completely shattered. Both bones in her lower leg were protruding from her calf in opposite directions where thick purple and blue patches of skin totally surrounded it. Sympathetic, Stefan released an ill breath he'd been holding and looked up at her with an incredibly pained imagination. Caroline's eyes were still closed tight.

He sighed deeply at her. "Did you at least get the bird?" She tried to laugh but the action jerked her leg and it came out more as a cry. She winced right after, growing stiff. "We need to fix this."

"No, don't!" She panicked when he made a move for her leg. He took a hold of her shoulders and she shook her head reluctantly.

"Yes, Caroline. I have to fix it or it won't get better. You can't stay here forever," he said kindheartedly. She knew he was right, the sooner the better, but the anticipation was seriously the worst thing in the world. The pain would be bad… really bad… but thinking about it and knowing it was coming made it all worse.

Caroline held her breath for almost a whole minute, and then finally exhaled to say, "Fine! Do it. Do it quickly." Her entire body was shaking by the time she made up her mind. He rubbed her arm to try to calm her nerves, but that wouldn't save her from what she was about to feel and he knew that. Maybe adrenaline was better.

Being shot was one thing, and being shot in the head was an even worse thing… but broken bones was a whole other level of discomfort for vampires. Creatures whose bodies underwent extremely short healing processes that made the initial wound even harder to bear. There was a reason why normal fractures took time to heal. Everything had to go back into place. New tissue had to form. Bone mass had to be replaced. It was a long process for normal human beings, but for vampires, it all happened at once and it was excruciating, however short the process was.

Caroline used her arm to quickly wipe a tear from her cheek. As her breathing intensified, Stefan nodded once at her. He waited patiently for the green light. Hesitant, she clinched her eyes shut and nodded back. Several dreadful snaps followed and suddenly Caroline was gripping Stefan's shirt. Her screams traveled horrendously through the forest, touching every tree with her pain.

* * *

Elena sighed into the phone as she walked over to the kitchen, pulling a quart of orange juice from the fridge while she spoke.

"That's good. At least she's okay," She went on.

"_Yeah," _Stefan's voice came through._ "That's usually the case with us. After everything that happens, at least we're all right."_ Elena scoffed at the realism of that. She and her friends very rarely steered clear of trouble, or rather, trouble very rarely steered clear of them.

"For now anyway," she chuckled and then almost instantly frowned. "Well, I'm gonna head out in a minute. Do you know if Tiki got a chance to tell Caroline about her party tonight?" Elena grabbed a glass from one of the top cabinets beside the sink and returned the orange juice back to fridge once she was done.

"_Ooh," _he said._ "Didn't know she was having a party." _She laughed at how sarcastically offended he was.

"Oh, don't act so shocked," she smiled, "Everyone knows Tiki only invites the socially acceptable people to her little get-togethers."

He chuckled softly. _"Ouch."_

"Hey, I'm still going even though _I _wasn't invited either. Maybe three years ago." She groaned at herself. She genuinely had no idea why she used to be a cheerleader or why she ran with that kind of crowd. Matt, Tyler, and Caroline were the only three football/cheerleader type people she hung out with anymore. "Anyway. You should come. I'm gonna call Caroline and then drive to Tiki's so I'll talk to you later hopefully?"

"_I'll be there," _he assured. She smiled and set the phone down on the counter as she lifted the glass of orange juice to her lips.

It was good to know Caroline was safely at home now, but plunging off an overhang out in the woods somewhere didn't sound like the best way to spend an afternoon. Not to mention the way Stefan described all of the physical trauma that came with it. The only time she ever recalled Caroline even coming close to breaking something was at Cheer Camp one year when she incorrectly landed a front-left handspring and sprained her wrist.

During that time period she was more angry than hurt about having to sit out a few major routines they would need to learn for that upcoming school year. She was tough, and ever since she turned, all that strength seemed to keep amplifying. And it was. Physically and emotionally. The older she got, the stronger she became all around. The life of a vampire, or at least that's what Stefan said.

Elena set her glass down on the counter, running her tongue over her lips to rid them of the stickiness that came with the orange juice, when someone called her name. She spun around to see Jeremy standing there with his arms crossed in the dining room. She gasped, pressing her back against the sink.

"Oh my… god. Jer. You scared me." She pressed a hand over her chest in shock, and he just stood there staring at her. She didn't notice how angry he looked at first because the surprise took a minute to wear off. When he didn't say anything, he had her more worried than frightened. "What is it?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" His eyes were dark and cruel.

Elena made a face at that. "Tell you what?" She scowled. He uncrossed his arms, more aggressively open to this discussion.

"That Tyler was involved in what happened yesterday." She blinked, letting what he was talking about sink in and groaned when she realized what he was talking about. "Since when is he working with the werewolves?"

Elena sighed at him. "He _is_ a werewolf, Jeremy."

"So?" He snapped. "That's not a reason."

"In this case it is," she said and stepped around the counter to walk over to him. "After everything that happened with Mason, he doesn't trust us anymore."

"He trusts _me_," he interrupted. Jeremy lowered his disconcerted gaze and she narrowed her eyes on him. They both knew it was only because he didn't know Jeremy was involved. Otherwise, he'd be dead to him like everyone else was now. "He told me what happened yesterday. That Stefan attacked him."

"Whoa, whoa-Stefan didn't do _any_thing to him," she said defensively. "He was trying to _help _him."

"Oh, yeah," he said lowly. "Like he _helped_ Vicki right?" Jeremy shook his head at her, and she was caught off guard by that familiar anger in his eyes. Suddenly, she was brought back to that night when Stefan was forced to kill Vicki Donovan when she turned and couldn't control her urges. "Look how that ended up."

Jeremy glowered at her hesitation, and when she couldn't find the right response, he rolled his eyes at her and decided it was time to leave. As he brushed shoulders with her, Elena turned with him as he went, reaching out but not knowing what to say. The second the front door slammed shut, she snatched the car keys off the counter frustrated and stormed out to her car.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you EasilyObsessedCTC for the nice review. :) I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm currently working on chapter six. I'll update as soon as it's beta-ed. Also, I know there hasn't been too much Stefan/Caroline action yet, but trust me I'm working up to it. Bringing some depth to this story.  
_

5

The music at Tiki's was blaring, but Caroline wasn't feeling it. She received her formal invitation to her fellow cheerleader's TGIF party around five and got there close to eight that evening. After fixing her injuries earlier, she hung around the Salvatore mansion to freeload some blood bags and _finally _got an opportunity to eat. She was grateful for a hard-earned chance to indulge. It certainly made her feel better.

When she got home and found Tiki's text message on her cell, she slipped on a pair of black skinny jeans and a lavender blouse with a thin black belt around the bottom. She also wrapped a thin grayish scarf around her neck on her way out the door. That was, after combing out all of the leaves in her hair and then showering for two hours. It took forever to get the dried blood stains off of her skin, and she almost cried when she had to bury her bloody, torn outfit out in the woods afterward. If her mother were to catch even a glimpse of her clothes she would freak. She couldn't take the chance.

Her current getup, which she considered leisurewear,was completed with a pair of black shooties that had little buckles on the outside part of her ankles. She usually only wore a ponytail with her cheerleading uniform but tonight it felt right. Tiki always had casual weekend starter parties anyway. She looked great but that didn't stop her from worrying about her appearance every second she was there.

Caroline walked away from where she was leaning against a wall and circled the living room in-ground pool where kids she recognized from school splashed around to the music. The mixed radio station was currently playing an '06 hit by Sparta called _Taking Back Control_. If she didn't know any better she would think the band was playing there personally as loud as it was.

She was halfway to the other side of the pool when a boy she knew from the Timberwolves basketball team ran in front of her and she flinched, stepping back. He ran up to the edge of the pool and stopped, but in the same instant, a teammate of his rushed up behind him and pushed him in. The boy somersaulted into the pool with one of the stupidest screams Caroline had ever heard and she cracked up before walking on.

"Caroline," a voice called. She didn't hear him at first as she continued on her way, so he tried again a little louder. "Caroline! Hey." She automatically turned toward the voice but when she saw Tyler jogging up to her, she rolled her eyes and kept walking.

Caroline shook her hand at him to go away. "Leave me alone, Tyler."

"We need to talk," he insisted. He jogged to keep up with her fast-paced walk and grabbed her arm to stop her.

How could he ever apologize for what he got her into if she refused to look at him? Tyler felt he owed it to the blonde vampire to at least apologize for his mistakes if turning back the clock and changing all of his choices yesterday wasn't an option. She'd been helping him a lot more than anyone aside from Jeremy, and though he wasn't sure how to deal with the Mason situation, she was a genuine friend to him before that startling information surfaced.

But she didn't want him to apologize. She wanted him to _go away_.

"_Don't_ touch me," she warned and yanked her arm away from him. She pointed furiously in the opposite direction with her eyes. "Just _go_." Her anger went unnoticed by people in their proximity, which was probably a good thing.

The last thing she needed was a scene, especially one where she ended up kicking Tyler Lockwood's ass in front of everybody. She did _not_ want to have to explain that. The only one who happened to overhear the confrontation was Stefan who was leaning over the metal second story railing when he noticed them.

"_Will you just wait a second?" _His voice sounded in Stefan's ears like he was speaking through a paper towel roll. He slightly turned his head to the side and continued tuning in more clearly.

Tyler reached for her again, but Caroline sensed his closeness and twisted around. She dodged his hand with ease, and in an instant, she reached out and had the neckline of his T-shirt gripped in her fist. She pulled him closer so that maybe he could _see _the hatred in her eyes if he still wasn't understanding, and his breathing intensified. She was too angry to care if anyone saw now. Surprised, Tyler instantly leaned back from her but she held him there, breathing heavily herself.

Some part of Stefan felt he should intervene, but a much larger part of him believed that all this time Caroline had actually been paying attention to him. That she knew her strength and now knew how to use it, but also knew how to control it. He relaxed where he stood.

"I told you," she said. "Leave. Me. _Alone_." Caroline released his shirt and forced him back with a cruel shove. He stumbled as he adjusted his newly wrinkled shirt and watched as she stormed off through the house.

Tyler looked around after she stepped out of sight and noticed a few contemplative eyes on him. "What?" He barked at them. They momentarily turned away from him but continued to stare as he left.

Stefan lifted his chin curiously at Caroline entering through the kitchen and then glanced over at Tyler walking off toward the front of the house. He entered a narrow hallway beneath the second landing, stepping out of view, and started sifting through a crowd of people blocking his way.

"Let's get out of here," Tyler said to Jeremy as he past him in the hallway. "I shouldn't be here."

Jeremy was sitting at the bottom of the stairs amongst a group of familiar Timberwolves when Tyler hit his arm without stopping. He quickly got to his feet, grabbing the tan jacket he wore over from the banister. Tyler didn't look at all satisfied after talking to Caroline, and truthfully, Jeremy wasn't expecting much of a forgive and forget kind of scenario.

He started turning with him as he went and followed him out toward the door. "I'm guessing it didn't go so well."

Tyler shrugged. "She doesn't want to forgive me that's fine. I'll go befriend some other vampire who killed my uncle." His unenthusiastic tone let him know how uninterested he was in this discussion, but Jeremy was sensing a discouraging amount of pessimism in his voice. He wasn't okay with it on any level. That much was obvious. Tyler was trying to forgive Caroline for however involved she was in Mason's murder, but she wasn't giving him a chance at all and _that_ was unfair.

He wanted to say something hopeful to get his spirits up, but Jeremy had never been good with words and right now his useless lips were failing him again. He remained close behind Tyler as they made a beeline for the door. He knew it wouldn't be easy or happen so fast, but in time they would all learn to forgive him. Jeremy was still in the process of forgiving him himself. Caroline didn't deserve what happened to her. She was only protecting her friends, protecting _Tyler_ from most likely Damon.

Jeremy frowned at himself for having not one encouraging word handy to say to him as the front door opened and closed behind them.

* * *

Stevie snuck around the high school and snapped the padlock in his fist at the backside entrance. The silent hallways were lit by a pale moonlight blue. If he was a little more human and a little less animal, it probably would have been too dark to see where he was running. His eyes weren't able to pick up much other than the outlines of objects along the way, but his heightened sense of smell had him rushing eagerly through the vacant school without need of perfect vision.

He could smell her. Everywhere. He followed her scent to almost every extracurricular building on and off campus, but for some reason he kept losing her trail right around the entrance to the library. It didn't matter. He had an idea where she might be. Apparently, some rich bitch was throwing a party at her lake house a couple miles from the school. If all the pink colored papers plastered to an entire wall of lockers with the name **TIKI **written on the front weren't a minor hint, the paper taped to Caroline Forbes' locker was.

Stevie walked up to the locker and narrowed his eyes on the invitation, yanking the taped paper from it. There were a few decorative pictures of animated cell phones around the page, which according to the sign would be the only way of getting to the girl's party. He guessed '**FORWARD DIRECTIONS**' was her way of getting everyone on her contacts list and everyone else's at the school to go.

He checked the time on his cell phone. It was about a quarter to ten. At this time of night he guessed the party would be raging. The number '**8**' was all over the pink paper which he assumed would be the time in which it would start. Two hours in and he imagined that place would be crawling with people. The blonde vampire from last night being one of them. This was too easy.

Stevie closed his fist around the length of the paper. "Found you." He smiled wickedly and took off at a run back toward where he entered.

* * *

Elena dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and walked miserably upstairs to bed. That would be the last time she attended anymore of Tiki's parties. One drink turned to two and suddenly much older looking college guys were slipping things into her drinks. She wasn't really sure what those slow dissolving tablets were at the bottom of her cup, but she had an idea what they were intended for. Elena tossed her drink the second she realized what was going on and drove out of there before someone could try anything.

She was all right to drive, but the ride home was slow safe to say. Driving while partially intoxicated was much harder than she thought it would be and fairly illegal, but Luka was kind enough to put a revitalizing spell on her before she left. It worked minor effects but cleared her head enough to get her home safely. She liked Luka. He was becoming a good friend and a major addition to their little circle of freaks.

A massive yawn escaped her as she reached the second landing and a shadow ran over her. She inhaled sharply as fear tightened her muscles and she twisted around. No one was there, but her spine was tingling. She remembered Jenna telling her that she might stay over at Alaric's, so the house was supposed to be empty. Jeremy was still at Tiki's as far as she knew. She wanted to call out to see if one of them was home, but thinking for a second that it might not be them, it was probably safer to investigate in silence. Someone could have broken in, and with as many people after her lately, better safe than dead.

Elena took one careful step back downstairs, but a thud upstairs made her twist back around. Someone was definitely in the house. Their presence couldn't be more evident if they were standing right behind her. Moving quietly, she reached for the cell phone in the pocket of her jeans and took several furtive steps toward her bedroom to remain out of sight. It was much closer than the door, so it would have to serve as a hiding place for now.

As she walked, she stared unnerved at the spare bedroom next to Jeremy's, and once she reached her room she was in a hurry to step inside. She thought about closing the door before she even got there but if the intruder saw it open already, they would know she was there. Elena made it to the doorway of her room and without warning, her eyes clinched shut in horror as two powerful hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in. Her back was instantly pressed against a wall without sound. She didn't struggle, she couldn't, she froze.

In a panic, she opened her eyes to see Elijah holding her there with the back of his forearm pressed against her chest. She panted at the ageless vampire in shock as he raised a finger between them to hush her. His eyes were dark and alert. Wanting to escape him, she put a hand on his arm pinning her there, but before she could do anything, footsteps out in the hall made her deathly pale. Elijah's eyes strayed to the open doorway, and Elena found herself gripping his arm now instead of pulling away.

Out in the hallway, Brady raised his nose and smelled the air. The doppelganger was here. He could sense her, but he was also picking up one other unidentifiable scent from her bedroom. It wasn't either of the Salvatores. This one had a much different smell to him. An _older _smell. Brady barred his fists daringly as he walked over to the room. He took one ready step inside, prepared to fight the moment he entered, lips raised hatefully, muscles burning…

No one was there.

Brady stood there examining the room, tense and still. He glanced over at the wall beside the doorway before his eager eyes traveled readily to the other side of the room. His blood grew hot. His fists twitched. Brady growled furiously as he flung everything off the top of Elena's dresser with one violent swing of his arm. He smashed his fist down on the roof of it afterward, staring with rage over his shoulder at the invisible breeze tickling a curtain through an open window.

* * *

"This sucks." Caroline glared at the crowd around her. Luka was standing beside her with his hands on Bonnie's waist giving her tiny pecks on the cheek. She rolled her eyes to them and pretended to gag.

Normally when her friends picked up new boyfriends who were as tolerable as Luka, she was happy for them, but with everything going on lately, she couldn't help feeling bitter. It was selfish but they would have to deal with it. She deserved a hall pass after what happened to her the other night.

"Oh, come on, Caroline," Bonnie tried and leaned over Luka's arms to pat her shoulder. Caroline rolled her eyes back to the crowd. "_Try _to have fun. You're not trying."

"Yes I am," she said flatly. Bonnie moved out of her boyfriend's reach to shake her shoulders.

"You're not trying!" Caroline's head fell back bored as she grabbed her friend's wrists to stop her.

"I could try this old euphoric spell my dad taught me," Luka chimed in. "Instant happiness. Better than any happy pill on the planet." He grinned. Caroline leaned her head against her shoulder and put a hand on her hip in one of her most recognizable diva stances.

"Do side effects include dizziness, nausea, and/or thoughts of suicide? Because I don't know how much more of that I can take!" She erupted, throwing her hands out in frustration at the suggestion.

"Don't say that," Bonnie frowned and pat her arm.

"I don't know about all that… " Luka shrugged. "But my dad got a bad case of diarrhea one time. That might've been the Mexican food though." He smiled broadly at the two girls staring back at him.

Caroline closed her eyes at that, and at once she and Bonnie burst into laughter. She wasn't in the mood to be laughing, and the fact that she had an overpowering urge to laugh at such a stupid joke worried her. Watching as Bonnie pushed Luka's shoulder in disgust and then stepped back into his welcoming arms, Caroline felt a frown sluggishly overtake her smile. They were happy. If the party wasn't working for her, bringing them down wouldn't do any good.

She missed the good old days when parties actually meant something to her. They were fun, they made her smile. Now she was fighting the need to leave, and she wasn't sure why. Perhaps this was her trying to cling to that huge part of her human life that enjoyed things like this, but whatever the case, tonight was not having much of a positive effect on her mood. Tyler was probably a large part to blame. She was content and somewhat enjoying herself before he appeared, but now… what was this? What was that sick feeling in the back of her mind?

It felt like someone was pressing the rewind button in her head, trying desperately to take her back to that night. So many emotions from yesterday were resurfacing and attacking her entire body. Caroline scowled at the people around her. Was this what post-traumatic stress disorder was like? Being paranoid? Feeling afraid?

"All right, well I'm out," she said suddenly and forced a smile to keep Bonnie off her tail.

Bonnie glared at her submission anyway. "Really?"

"Yeah." She grabbed her beige jacket off the barstool where it'd been hanging for most of the night, and slipped her arms inside. "I'm tired anyway. Music's giving me a headache."

"Oh, fine. Fine. Get outta here, you old lady." Bonnie shooed her away as Caroline wrapped her arms around her in a quick hug.

"_And _I love you too," she grinned. Bonnie smiled at her, though disappointed she was leaving. "Later, Luka." She waved and he made a show out of bowing to her in good humor as she stepped around them to leave.

Jules was watching carefully from the second story landing as Caroline left the witches. She already had Stevie's number dialing. The phone rang a couple times against her ear and then he answered.

"_Sup?"_

"Caroline's leaving," she informed him. "Hurry up." Her eyes followed the blonde vampire slipping through a crowd of people on her way to the door when his voice came through.

"_I'm already here."_


	6. Chapter 6

6

The air was nice. There was something about being outdoors now that Caroline found appealing. She remembered Damon spotting a picture of her dads holding their Pekinese, Cleo, one time, and he made the comment that 'all animals were outside animals'. Naturally, she argued a much different perspective, but perhaps there was some truth to that after all. Though he made it clear he simply didn't like the thought of fur on the furniture or surprises throughout the house, the idea could definitely go for vampires.

Caroline walked with one foot in front of the other along the double yellow lines of her quiet neighborhood road. She held her hands up and out at her sides, tilting them back and forth as she walked, though, it was more fun than beneficial to hold her arms out like an airplane. She took ballet for three years when she was nine and discovered she was a predestined cheerleader two years prior to dance class. She had great balance as a human and even more so now that she was stronger.

Coming up on her house, she stopped in the middle of the road to listen. She heard an abundance of harmonious crickets singing peacefully in the grass. An owl up in a tree somewhere around her neighbor's house… Then there was the rough purr of an engine approaching. Tires. A car. Relaxed, she looked over her shoulder to catch a visual of the beat-up 64' Impala coming out from a pitch black road. She stepped over into the left lane to allow it space to pass her, but the driver wasn't in any one lane anymore. He was slowly riding the yellow lines, maintaining a constant speed behind her.

This was exactly why it wasn't smart for girls to walk alone after dark. All the creeps came out at night. Caroline wasn't worried though. If he was planning on stuffing her in the trunk of his car, well. He could certainly try, _or_ better yet, he could just pass her…

She glanced over her shoulder at him once more to find he was still lingering close behind. Caroline waved for him to pass with more vigor than before, but obviously he wasn't getting the message. Their high beams turned on, and her arm instinctively went up to protect her sensitive eyes that had already adjusted to the dark.

"Do you mind?" She scowled.

The windows were too dark to see inside if the blinding headlights weren't enough to keep whoever was inside completely obscured. Caroline glanced over at her house as she continued to walk but decided not to draw attention to where she lived. She didn't want some weirdo stranger following her, much less following her home. She could defend herself just fine, but her mother was who she was presently feeling protective of.

While she was deciding whether or not to scare the living shit out of this punk by maybe showing off a little of her fangs (so that he would never openly stalk a young lady again), the motor revved and she tensed up. Furious now, she spun around on impulse.

"For God's sake! Go around me!" Caroline felt her knees tense beneath her as all four tires screeched violently against the pavement, and the Impala was suddenly coming at her fast. Her eyes were quick to notice this, and her body did not hesitate to react.

She took a step back as her eyes quickly narrowed in on the incoming driver. It all happened very fast, but for a second she was able to clearly make out the person steering the vehicle toward her. He had honey-colored irises and a face she would recognize a hundred times over in a police line-up. It was one of those guys from last night. One of them who fought Stefan and Damon until Jonas came and gave all of the werewolves a hell of a bad headache. Steven? Is that what she heard Brady call him?

As the car was coming at her, instead of jumping out of the way at the last second for fear of a human discovering her secret, she reacted the way Stefan would have wanted her to. He told her several times in the past around the time Katherine was threatening to kill her and her friends if she didn't go along with her plan. If someone wanted her dead, he wasn't always going to be there to help her. It could happen at anytime without notice, and she _always_ had to be ready. She had to stay alive. She had to fight.

The metal fender was barely able to touch her knees but had little to no effect because she made impact first. Caroline smashed her fists down onto the hood of the vehicle, and the back of the Impala rose up like a seesaw. Rear tires spinning aloft, she forced the car back from her with a powerful shove and it made contact with the road again. The car went forward as the tires continued to gyrate out of control.

Caroline balled her fists. She was shocked at how strong she never knew she was. Something was taking over her. Rage. Fear. An instinct to survive. The side of her that _hated_ werewolves… The side of her that loved to kill and never could. Until now. Caroline snarled at the driver side door opening faster than the human eye could see.

The werewolf ran out and was inches from her in seconds. "Hello, again." He grinned so close to her face that she felt his breath on her skin.

Panting as adrenaline traveled through her, she said, "You." He grabbed her shoulder with one strong hand while the other raised a syringe above his head. Caroline caught his wrist before it could come down on her without struggle and kicked him hard below the knee.

The attack caused him to stumble back from her, but not a second later he was on her again. She grabbed his neck, holding him as far away from her as she could and squeezed the air out of him, but she found he wasn't so easy to kill that way. He was a lot stronger than he looked. But so was she. Stevie gripped the wrist she had at his neck and twisted. A pained scream escaped her, but she refused to release her hold on him. If she let him go, he could easily stab her with whatever liquid was in that syringe he was so eager to inject her with.

She tightened her hand around his neck, and he choked harshly as all the air in his lungs left him. _"Damn you're strong," _he managed hoarsely. She took compliments well no matter who they came from, but they always did make her want to show off.

"You have no idea." She spoke through her teeth and kicked her knee up into his groin. The needle fell from Stevie's hand as he stumbled back and then collapsed forward onto his knees. Boys. They were all the same. Attack them once in the right place and it was over for them.

Caroline stepped up to the fallen werewolf, towering over him, and pushed him onto his back with one strong kick to the chest. Groaning, he squirmed around on the road as she walked over him and crouched down. She yanked him forward into an upright position by his jacket.

"Why are you here?" She demanded. "Why are you doing this to me again?" She allowed the blood to rush to her eyes and the slithering veins beneath them to become visible to him. He needed to see what was coming to him if he didn't answer her. What was coming to him either way.

Not finding her pulled back lips and exposed fangs at all intimidating, he reached up and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her head back roughly. She cried out as her body flipped over him, and he was instantly on top of her.

She struggled beneath his weight, reaching for his neck again but he caught her arm this time. With the other hand, she grabbed the syringe he dropped off the pavement before he could react and drove it violently into his neck. She snapped the needle in two, and he yelled out just before falling off of her. There was not a second to waste after that. She had to end this before he got her down again. If he wasn't going to talk, she didn't need him alive.

"Have it your way." She snarled and in a split second, she was on his back gripping a clot of his dark brown hair. He winced as she yanked his head to the side to expose his neck.

Fangs ready, hand gripping his shoulder, she drew her head back to bite down on him, but a large hand closed around her arm before she could. She gasped, barely having time enough to see the face of her attacker before the man swung the back of his hand across her face. Caroline fell hard against the road with scrapes all up and down her arm. She could taste the blood in her mouth from a busted lip.

Panicked, she pressed her palm to her red cheek and began scooting away from the other werewolf. She didn't recognize this one. He must not have been around last night. Stevie hurried to his feet at his side, scowling at his unannounced appearance though grateful, she could tell. A substantial amount of relief washed over him, and they nodded at each other as both a thank you and a hello. They obviously knew each other, but whether or not Steven knew the other one would be coming was not clear.

When their eyes turned back to her, Caroline's face crumbled. She couldn't handle them both. Not a chance. Not alone. Caroline was on her feet in no time at all, giving her back to them as she ran. She wanted more than anything to run to her mom, but instead she fled in the opposite direction. She needed to lure them away from her house. The police SUV was still there in the driveway. Her mom was home, and she had no doubt they would use her to get to her. She could only hope they hadn't followed her scent to her house yet.

Caroline knew a shortcut to the Salvatore mansion. It was straight through the woods. She could make it. She was fast. That's what she convinced herself of the entire time she was running. Though, glancing over her shoulder she saw that they were rapidly catching up. She'd never known dogs that could run like that on two legs.

Just before entering the clearing that surrounded the boarding house, she leapt over a fallen tree in her path and everything around her seemed to slow down. The wind blew her long curls furiously around her head while her arms pumped restlessly at her sides. Aerial, Caroline looked over her shoulder to see the two werewolves hurdling over the tree mere moments after her, determinedly reaching out for her. They were so close now. If Stefan was still at the party… if Damon wasn't home…

Caroline panted heavily as her heels made contact with ground again, and the mansion was in plain sight. "Stefan!" She screamed but was barely able to get it out.

Immediately after calling out for him, the nameless werewolf made it to her first. He growled deeply at the closing distance between them, tackling her from behind before she could get any farther. Her chin hit the ground hard, and her face pressed down against the grass as she tried desperately to push up from him. He was too heavy. She couldn't move. Her hands trembled while gripping the grass in an angry panic. With his arm, he held her there in a stranglehold.

"Stefan!" She cried again, this time more frantic than before. "Damon! Help!" Her voice cracked as the one on top of her laid his weight into her. She kicked and pushed but Stevie appeared quick to help. With a combined effort, they held her down on her chest while Stevie yanked a new syringe from his jacket pocket. "No, don't!" She cried. "STEFAN-PLEASE-STEFAN-DON'T-PLEASE!"

Thunder cackled somewhere in the distance, and heavy rainfall instantly fell from the sky. Driven by how unfairly close she was to reaching help, Caroline bit the werewolf's arm around her neck and he yelled out. The instant he released her, Stevie lurched for her, but he slipped on the wet grass and she was able to get back on her feet again.

Rain soaked her clothes, pulled down on her hair, made her body much heavier than it actually was. Caroline pushed forward. She had to make it. _She had to stay alive_…

"_Stefan_!" She screamed as frightened tears meshed with the cold raindrops streaming down her face.

When he didn't immediately come running out to help her… when Damon didn't open the door with that serious look on his face… when no one in the world came to her aid… she knew it was over. It would hurt when the werewolf pushed her back down, tore into her back, sunk his teeth into her neck. It would hurt to have what hope she had left stolen from her… but thinking about it and knowing it was coming made it all worse.

Something about her biting him triggered the werewolf's natural hatred of vampires, and he lost himself. A violent growl escaped him, and the entire human part of his existence was lost to the wolf. Stevie was fixing to run after Caroline when he noticed how furious he was becoming and changed direction. He had to stop him from attacking her. He knew how violent out of control werewolves could be and this one in particular didn't have the cleanest record.

"Jackson! No! Jackson!" He yelled at him. He wasn't listening. He wasn't him anymore.

The one he called 'Jackson' wrapped his arms around Caroline's waist, yanking her down with him, and she screamed as he bit down vengefully into her neck. The squirming vampire tried pulling away from him, but his enlarged teeth locked on her like a rabid canine, crushing her neck, going for the kill. There was a loud snap, and Caroline gasped as she started losing her vision. Her body grew limp, but he still wasn't letting go.

She wasn't dead yet.

Stevie ran up to him furiously to shove his shoulder. "Let her go!" He demanded. When he didn't respond, he didn't move, he shoved him harder. "JACKSON! LET. HER. GO."

It took a minute, but his anger eventually began to wear off. Caroline wasn't moving, and her eyes were wide and fading. She was the only vampire in this town that wasn't over a hundred years old. The Salvatores weren't an option. She was their only way of breaking the curse.

Stevie dropped down beside Caroline to observe her. He felt for a pulse but then remembered vampires didn't have one… He hovered his hands around her bleeding neck and grimaced at the damage Jackson had done to her, shaking with rage.

"You goddamn IDIOT!" He exploded. Jackson fell back on the grass, staring at the unmoving vampire confused. He couldn't recall anything up to the point of her biting him. "She's as good as dead now! A werewolf bite is toxic to vampires! We NEEDED her! What the hell have you done!"

"I didn't… I _couldn't_…" He shook his head at Stevie pacing nervously in front of him. He knew they weren't supposed to kill her, but it wasn't him that had. He lost control, and in that one moment of vulnerability, he'd screwed up their entire plan.

Caroline lay there without a sound as the rain ran off with her into the dark.

"Holy shit…" Stevie breathed and shook his head at her body in disbelief. "It's over… we're screwed. Jules is _so… _gonna kill us."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thank you EasilyObsessed! That's very nice of you! You're my #1 reader haha Thank you very much for your support. Your reviews make me smile! I hope you enjoy these new upcoming chapters!_

7

Stefan left the party around the same time his friends all started to leave. He didn't know anyone there other than the host, but he couldn't say that the stereotypical cheerleader was enough to make him stay. They weren't the best of friends and truth be told he only tolerated her because of Caroline's friendship with the girl. Stefan was walking home when he started patting his pockets down for his phone.

He wanted to check the time to see if maybe Damon would be home. He said he was going to meet Elena at the party, but he didn't see him anywhere in the time he was there. He probably changed his mind. Anything even resembling a _date_ made Damon cringe. He didn't like the word, and Stefan was positive if it came up he would most likely start avoiding Elena. It wouldn't be fair to her, she was a good friend to them, but that was the loving, caring, sharing kind of guy he was.

Reaching in his pocket, he stopped under a streetlamp in the middle of the sidewalk to flip the hood of his dark green hoodie over his head. Those soft drizzles he felt after leaving the party were growing heavier by the second. Stefan squinted at the ground as something cold touched his fingers. He pulled out a shiny object deep within the pocket of his jeans and spread the jewelry over his palm to examine it. It was Caroline's watch he found out in the woods earlier. He didn't remember to give it back to her after tending to her wounds, and up until now he forgot all about placing it in his pocket. Thoughtful, Stefan closed his fingers around the watch, rolling his eyes over in the direction of her house.

He recalled Caroline saying goodnight to him at Tiki's when she was passing through to leave, but maybe he could catch her before she went to bed.

* * *

Jules followed Bonnie and Luka to her house from the party. He drove her home but was taking an incredibly long time to drop her off. The rain wasn't bothering her. It actually felt good. They just kept talking and hugging and kissing, and Jules didn't know how much more of _this _she could take. After a few more failed attempts at mentally willing Luka to leave, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to see Brady's name across the top of the screen.

"Everything okay?" She answered. He sighed exasperated into the phone.

"_The girl's gone,"_ he said. _"There's another vampire here. This one's older. I picked up his scent at the house."_

Jules shook her head not understanding. "What do you mean she's gone? What vampire? Are you all right?"

"_I'm fine. I was at the house. The girl was there but someone else was too. He took her before I could get to them, and I'm having trouble following his scent. He's fast. There's no telling where they are."_ Jules huffed. Vampires… What was it about this town that drew so many vampires? She glared across the street at Luka's vehicle in the driveway. There was still no movement. This night was taking a turn for the worst.

"_Hang on," _Brady said. _"Steven's on the other line." _It got quiet for a second and then both of them were on the same line with her. _"Okay."_

"All right look," Jules began authoritatively. "We need to find Elena and get her back before something happens to her. For all we know we might already be too late."

"_Wait, what? Get her back?"_ Stevie said, his voice eager. _"What happened?"_

"_Vampire took her," _Brady informed him. _"Not the Salvatores."_

"_Uh… that's not good…"_

"It's _fine_," Jules interjected. "We just have to-" She choked on her next words as someone completely snatched her attention.

The front door to Bonnie's house opened and a tall dark-skinned man stepped out on the porch. Short black hair, fair build, late thirties. There was no way that was who she was imagining… but that was the man she was seeing.

It was the warlock from last night.

Brady's voice came through when she cut off. _"Jules… What is it?"_

She very quietly hushed him, and her friends trustingly fell silent.

Her eyes grew round with realization as she watched Luka open the driver side door and smile happily at him. She tilted her head to listen in, and she heard Bonnie giggling about something in the passenger seat. Probably about almost getting caught making out, she assumed.

"Hey, dad," Luka said. Jules lost her breath. This wasn't Bonnie's house…

"Hi, Mr. Martin," Bonnie smiled as they rushed up to the porch to escape the rain.

"Luka," he greeted. "Bonnie. Have fun?" He inquired while they shook themselves to get some of the rain off of their clothes and hair.

"Yep," Luka grinned. "Oh and Bonnie's not gonna stay long." She nodded at the warlock.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for coming over at all. I know it's late. I forgot my keys this morning, but my dad should be home soon to let me in. I hope it's not a problem."

"Nonsense," he waved at her. "You're always welcome here, Ms. Bennett." She smiled. "Come on in you two. It's nasty out here."

Frozen, Jules gawked at them as they began stepping inside. After Luka and Bonnie went in, the warlock lingered in the doorway, staring off across the street with a pair of unfriendly eyes. Jules lowered her crouch behind the bush where she hid and peeked around to see if he was still looking. He was… and this time right where she was located. She quickly ducked back down, turning her back to him.

"_Jules…" _Brady said in her ear. She closed her eyes for a moment, praying he didn't see her, and when she reopened them, she carefully looked around the bush once more. The front door was closing behind him, and finally, she was breathing again.

With a massive sigh, she said, "Guys…We have another problem."

* * *

Elena grunted deeply at Elijah's hold on her, and once he finally set her down in a place she did not recognize, she vigorously pushed him away from her. Panting and a bit dizzy after traveling over a hundred miles an hour in his arms, she stumbled back in the woods where he'd taken her. It wasn't raining anymore. The ground didn't feel the slightest bit wet. The night was clear… this wasn't the Mystic Falls forecast…

"What's happening!" She demanded. "Who was that back there!" Elijah ignored her frustrated tone and straightened his black suit jacket to flatten any wrinkles she may have created when she shoved him.

"A werewolf," he answered calmly. Alarmed, she gaped at the unsettlingly serene vampire. "It appears I still have some cleaning up to do."

She shook her head at him confused. "What are you talking about? Where did you take me?"

"The wolves were told to leave town. I suppose greater incentive will be necessary," he said and Elena got the feeling he was talking to himself. He wasn't looking at her and she didn't feel remotely involved in his thoughts. When he gave his attention to her, after seemingly making a decision, he narrowed his eyes on her panting concerned. "Slow your heart, child," he appeased. "I've brought you to one of my temporary estates. You'll be safe here until I return."

Elena was grateful he rescued her from the intruder at her house, but then immediately remembered he was only protecting her so that he could kill her himself. She crossed her arms, shifting uncomfortably, but that aside, she couldn't help raising a brow at him.

"You live in the woods?" She speculated. Not that she'd thought about it before, but she never imagined his assortment of designer suits to be hanging on a branch out in the woods somewhere. An oversized closet maybe the size of her room seemed better suited for someone as perpetually prim as Elijah.

"Don't be ridiculous, Elena. Your lifeless humor is tiresome." She scowled at him, and he pointed at the ground. She followed his finger. "Follow the trail. At the end you'll find a house. It would have been polite of me to set you down closer, but I feared your frenzied heart might have given out."

She glared. "I'm fully capable of walking from here." Elijah smiled faintly at her anger impressed. He could kill her in an instant, but she was so audacious she didn't care. She was a tiny mouse tempting a cat and that was truly amusing to him.

"Very well. Go on now," he encouraged and glanced over her shoulder to point her in the right direction. He turned to leave her there.

"Wait," she stopped him and took a step toward him. "Where am I? Let me call my friends. I promise I won't tell them where you've taken me."

Elijah turned back to her, giving her a clear once-over. Elena knew he wouldn't want to tell her or anyone else where it was he lived, however temporary it was, but taking her there and leaving her unsupervised she was bound to find out on her own. They'd made deals in the past. Elijah had proven to be trustworthy, but she could only hope he trusted her as well. He had no reason to, but as long as he protected her friends, she would keep her side of the bargain.

Elena frowned at how unreadable he was. She needed someone to tell. She felt so alone right now, and one phone call would make her feel a whole lot better than nothing.

"I know you took my cell phone," she added. Actually, she wasn't too sure about that, but she hadn't seen it since he took off with her at the house. She might have dropped it in her room somewhere, but she didn't remember hearing any kind of bang on the way out. He raised his chin at her pleading eyes. "Please."

There was a long pause before she got a reply, and then Elijah reached inside his inner suit pocket and pulled out her small phone. She was right.

"Okay," he shrugged with a hard look. "I don't think you need to be reminded…" He held the phone out and Elena stared at his hand for a moment. She reached out, leaning toward the hand instead of stepping closer. "That if someone shows up here…"

"They won't," she said quickly. He nodded once to let her know he was putting his trust in her, and Elena feebly nodded back. "What are you going to do?" She asked.

Elijah responded, "I'm going to fix your town's wolf problem."

* * *

Stefan made it to Caroline's house just as Liz was stepping out to leave. She was wearing a pair of dark green Khakis with a black rain resistant police jacket over her uniform. She was on her way to work, which gave him the idea that stopping by wasn't such a good idea. He knew he wouldn't be allowed at the house after dark especially if she knew about him staying over the other night. She didn't have to worry about him or Damon anymore for that matter, but she was a very protective mother who pretty much worried about everyone and everything involving her daughter.

Liz was locking the front door when he started up the driveway to her. She didn't notice him until she made it to the police SUV and gave him a second glance while opening the driver side door.

"Stefan Salvatore," she droned. He returned her light smile. "What are you doing here so late?" Liz leaned over the driver seat to set her coffee down in one of the two cup holders that divided the front seats.

He tucked his hands away in his pockets. "I have something of Caroline's. I was wondering if she was still awake."

"Oh, I wouldn't know," she chuckled but her eyes were melancholy. "Been locked up in her room since she got home. You should come back tomorrow, Stefan. I'll be sure to tell her you dropped by in the morning." He nodded and she left it at that. She stepped up inside the vehicle and quickly shut the door behind her.

The rain was pulling down on his clothes and attacking his hair but the wind was the worst. He could see why she would be in a hurry to get under cover. The extreme chill the weather brought with it wasn't such a bother to him, but live bodies worked differently than dead bodies. Live bodies worked. Stefan moved over into the lawn to allow her space to pull out, and she waved goodbye to him on the road.

Caroline was probably asleep. There would be no point in waking her up. Her watch sat idly in his pocket. Looked like he would have to hold onto it for a little while longer.

* * *

He didn't understand why Elena had to be so difficult all the time. The only reason he agreed to go to Tiki's party at her request was to be near her, and he found out from Bonnie that she left around the time he got there. He couldn't remember one time in his life that a woman stood him up. There was a first time for everything, but Damon was having trouble wrapping his mind around this one.

This wasn't him. Why was he dwelling on this? Caroline was the insecure one not him and why was that? Because she could never find someone who was equally attracted to her as she was to him? Was that his problem now? Elena didn't share the same feelings he had for her?

He looked at the caller ID and saw Elena's name lighting up the screen. He was good at putting up strikingly convincing facades, so it wouldn't be too difficult. He didn't want to answer though. He felt it was his duty to do anything but answer…

"Yes," he sighed into the phone. Damn her. But now that he'd answered, he was determined to sound as unhurt as possible.

"Damon." Her voice came through. Elena was still walking through the dark woods alone, touching trees as she went to make sure she remained on the trail to Elijah's house. "Don't come looking for me. I'm fine."

At first her words did not occur to him. "You stood me up. Wait. _Rewind_. Where are you? What happened?"

Elena bent over momentarily to wipe dirt from her jeans. "I'm okay. Elijah took me some place safe," she informed him. "I left early from the party and, Damon… there was someone in my house." He heard her hiss through the phone as she scratched her arm on a sharp stick protruding from a nearby tree, and he raised his chin to listen.

"What? Who? Elijah was there? What's going on?" He asked quickly, his eyes wandering eagerly around the room.

"_I don't know," _she said. Damon continued to pointlessly walk through the house. She hadn't given him a direction to run in yet so he figured he ought to wait for his cue. She _really_ needed a GPS chip implanted in her head for every time she got kidnapped. _"But he said it was a werewolf. I don't know what he's going to do. Damon, please, just promise me you'll watch out for Tyler."_

Damon made a face at that confused. "_Tyler_? Why the hell would I do anything for him? He could have gotten us all killed last night, including Miss Mystic Falls if you've forgotten."

"Damon, please," she asked worriedly. "If Elijah thinks he's one of them… don't let him hurt him. He promised to protect my friends… but I'm worried he might disregard Jeremy's." Thoughtful, Damon was silent a moment. Then he groaned deeply into the phone.

"_Fine," _he said. Elena sighed with relief. _"I guess I could dog sit for a while. Not like there's anything _normal _to do around here anyway."_

"Thank you," she smiled kindly. "Damon. Really." A faint smile crossed his lips in response to her kindhearted appreciation, but then he remembered she avoided his earlier question and scowled.

"Hey," he snapped. "You never told me where you were." Elena hesitated to respond. This was the part she knew he wouldn't like. The part she was putting off.

"_I can't," s_he said at last. "I promised Elijah I wouldn't." Damon furrowed his brows.

"Why the hell not?" He questioned impatiently.

"I just _can't_, Damon. I don't want any more of my friends getting hurt over me. Just know that I'm okay. And you don't have to worry." The line went dead and Damon stared down at the phone in his hand. She was not okay. This was _not_ okay.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Oh my goodness. Sorry this chapter took so long. Every time I opened my laptop something else came up. I haven't had a lot of time to myself to write but finally here it is lol hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading people._

**DISCLAIMER: Once again, I do not own this or any other material portrayed in previous chapters of this Fanfiction.**

8

Caroline was awoken the next morning by a drop of rain. It fell from a leaf above, splashing against her cheek and tickling the hairs on her arms as she realized she was wet. She blinked a few times as the distinct sting of water in her eyes forced her up. This wasn't her bed. Because this wasn't home. Drowsy, Caroline pushed herself into an upright position to look around. Her arms were shaky at first, but the trembling quickly wore off and she grew fully awake in no time.

She was at the bottom of a once dried up well now damp with rain from last night. She had to be. Otherwise, her bedroom was a lot murkier than when she left it yesterday. What had those people done to her last night after she passed out? She stared at the circular stone wall, still and thoughtful. Caroline cautiously raised a hand to her neck. Her eyes widened as she recalled what happened to her in front of the Salvatore mansion. He bit her. A werewolf _bit _her.

Her fingers carefully tapped her shoulder before she could gain the courage to look. Werewolf bites were fatal to vampires or so she heard. Just one, Stefan said, and it would mean genuine death for her this time. No coming back, no second chances. Dead. In the ground. Six feet under. Caroline panicked after nervously patting the area and feeling nothing but her bare skin. She hurriedly turned her head to observe the damage but was surprised to find nothing but a huge rip in the shoulder of her blouse.

Had he not bitten her? Had he scratched her maybe and that's why her shirt was torn? But she remembered feeling teeth. There was no mistaking claws for someone's jaw. Was Stefan wrong about werewolves? Caroline herself had never witnessed a vampire death due to such a wound, and she never thought to ask if he had either. Nothing else explained how she could have healed from it.

Whatever the case, she had to find Stefan and the others to warn them of possible future attacks. Their reasons for attacking _her _last night were still unknown, but for now it didn't matter. For now, she needed to find her friends and make sure they were safe.

Caroline got to her feet, taking a deep breath before leaping up and out through the top of the well. She glanced around at her surroundings. She was just outside the woods in a clearing. This was the old Crawford property well. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford passed away a while back and the overgrown farm had gone to one of their children. When the last of their family moved away, it was eventually sold to the city where the Lockwoods then tore down the ranch and made 40 acres of land into a hiking trail.

This was far from home.

* * *

By the time Caroline found that familiar trail she'd taken with her friends once before and found her way out of what was now the Falls Hike, it was around eleven that afternoon. The sun was concealed by dark clouds passing over from the thunderstorm last night. Everything was wet and icky and dripping until she spotted the road through the trees and ran home along the bikeway. It was a thirty minute drive with mild traffic in mind from her side of town to the Hike, but on foot it took her maybe three minutes. If that.

The Salvatore mansion was closer than her house, so she went there first to find Stefan. It wasn't as if she could tell her mother what happened to her anyway. She was a vampire, her mom was a human. Right now what she needed was to sit down with those few who she could be completely honest with and discuss where to go from here.

Caroline slowed to her human run once she made it to the front steps of their house and when she discovered the front door was unlocked she hurried right on in.

"Stefan?" She called and pushed the door closed behind her. "Damon? Are you home?" She rushed through the house, partially jogging in between steps, and then stood still in the massive open sitting area to listen for either of them.

"_What? Where could she be?" _Stefan's eager voice sounded in her ears.

"_Didn't I just say I _don't _know? This is ridiculous-I'm going to find her," _Damon snapped.

Caroline hadn't heard another word before hurrying upstairs. She ran through the open doorway of Stefan's bedroom to find Damon sitting in a large armchair toward the corner of the room. He was tapping his foot eagerly while Stefan had his arms crossed pacing in front of him. Her mom must have called them looking for her when she never came home. It was a likely scenario.

"Oh thank God!" Caroline ran to them. "You have no idea the kind of night I had!"

"_Damon_," Stefan scolded, and Caroline glared across the room at him. Surely he'd heard her… "Be smart. If she says she's okay then we have to trust that. Why else would he have allowed her to call us if she wasn't?"

Caroline threw her arms out angrily. "Um! Hello? Are you listening to me? I was attacked last night-!"

"Because he _compelled _her?" Damon spoke over her. "Because he wants us to _believe _she's all right-because he's forcing her to _lie _to us? I can come up with a million reasons why he would let her call us. But you're right. Let's wait for Elijah to sacrifice Elena to _Kong _and then make our move." Stefan sighed deeply at him. "That's why you're not team leader, Stefan." Damon stood to poke him firmly in the chest. "You don't have what it takes to be Fred Jones."

Caroline stared frustrated at them as she began catching on to what they were talking about. "What? Elijah…" She shook her head, confused. "Is Elena okay? Did something happen? Will someone _please_ explain to me what's going on?"

After the night she had, she really didn't need them ignoring her or playing games. Games were Damon's thing. Why would Stefan go along with it and what were they talking about? They were acting like she wasn't there, like they couldn't hear or see her or were just refusing to. Why wouldn't they acknowledge her? This wasn't fun. Games were supposed to be fun.

Stefan put a hand on his forehead flustered. Something was going on, and Caroline had a feeling it had absolutely nothing to do with her. Maybe her mom hadn't called them after all.

"Hello, boys."

Close to chucking something heavy at both of their heads, Caroline turned to face the voice in the doorway. The three of them grew tense at the sight of Elijah. Caroline stepped back at once so that she was shoulder-to-shoulder with Damon. She wanted nothing to do with this man. She'd met him once in the past, but that was before she knew who he was. He introduced himself to her under the alias 'Smith' to get information about Elena, but from what Stefan and Elena had told her about him, she forever regretted ever opening her mouth to him.

Damon closed his fists. "How did you get in here?" He gave him a fierce look. "I didn't invite you in." Speaking to such an old vampire in that tone gave no respect to his age.

Elijah raised a brow at his insolence. "You met Jonas, yes? He comes from a very powerful line of witches. Solicitation spells…" He brushed his finger along a dusty book shelf, walking closer. "They're only temporary but… I'm here in spirit and I only need five minutes."

"For what?" Stefan was careful to keep his tone slightly less harsh than Damon's. He didn't want trouble, but that's exactly what Damon wanted after Elena called again this morning. She explained everything about the werewolves and what Elijah was planning to do, but Damon didn't trust him and probably never would.

"To explain," he said flatly. Cool, Elijah tucked his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "She's fine, I can assure you."

"Where's Elena?" Caroline said quietly. She couldn't help but glower as Damon was. She didn't know how Stefan could be so calm while Elena was missing? Is that what she got from their conversation? She couldn't be sure with everyone ignoring her… but Elijah didn't seem to be, though he wasn't look at her.

"She's in Atlanta. With a few of my… reliable human servants. Don't worry."

"Don't worry?" Damon repeated, and Caroline stiffened as she recognized his tone as the calm before the storm. "You _kidnapped _Elena… and we shouldn't worry?" Stefan put a hand on his chest to hold him back from doing something stupid, but Damon instantly smacked his hand away.

"No." Elijah spoke indifferently. "You shouldn't. She's fine. Trust me." Damon scoffed at that. As if that would ever happen. "The _only _reason I took her from her home was to protect her."

"Protect her?" Stefan encouraged him to continue.

He nodded, appreciative of his less derisive tone. "Yes. I was passing through the neighborhood, making sure everything was fine after Jonas informed me of what went on the other night with your friend…" Caroline looked the other way nervously. "…when I discovered a particularly interesting scent around the bell tower. So I followed it. To the Gilbert house." He tilted his head. "It was a lycan."

Stefan raised his hand thoughtfully. "A werewolf." Caroline's eyes grew round with worry.

"Oh my god…" She breathed. It was just as she suspected. She wasn't the only one being targeted by them. Elena couldn't fight them like she could. She couldn't run as fast either. She desperately hoped she was okay.

"Yes. But I took her before he could do any harm. I don't know why he was there. I don't _care _why he was there. And that brings us to why I'm here." Stefan lifted his chin. "I wasn't sure if any of you were… friendly with the wolves."

"Does it matter?" Damon barked, giving him the most hateful look. "You're just going to do whatever the hell you want right? You're gonna kill Elena, you're gonna break your little curse and then eventually kill all of us, am I wrong?" Stefan grunted uncomfortably, and Damon turned to him. "Tell me if I'm wrong, Stefan."

Half-smiling, Elijah softly cleared his throat. "I've kept my word, have I not?" Damon glowered. "Maybe I'm not as bad as you think."

"Oh, trust me," Damon said harshly and choked back repulsed laughter. "You're as bad as I think. Maybe you're trustworthy. Maybe you're not." He shrugged uncaringly. "I'll never know. Because I'll sure as hell never be stupid enough to put my trust in you." He looked at Stefan heatedly. "My brother and I are a lot different that way." Stefan lowered his head without comment, and Damon scowled across his shoulder at him.

Caroline felt it was smart to remain quiet. She wasn't good with negotiations or talking big. She figured she ought to leave this to the Salvatores to sort out, though they weren't doing a very good job of it. Stefan stepped forward just when she thought Damon was going to attack Elijah. He couldn't do any harm to his spirit if he was being truthful about the solicitation spell. He couldn't do any harm to him period. But that wouldn't stop him from trying.

"Tyler Lockwood," Stefan said. "Leave him. He's a friend." Bored with Damon's attitude, Elijah rolled his eyes to the other brother and nodded once at him.

"As you wish. I'll see to it Elena finds her way back home by this evening."

"Elijah," Stefan said before he could leave. "I want to come with you." Disgusted, Damon turned his burning eyes to his sibling.

Caroline shook her head, worried.

"I might be able to talk them into leaving. They were blinded the other night by a misunderstanding with Tyler. They might listen now that circumstances have changed."

"It might not end that way," he said, more certain than not.

Stefan realized the likelihood of that and looked down. "I would still like to try."

Elijah nodded approvingly. "I will be at the bell tower at noon." And with that said, he vanished as his spirit returned to his body, and Caroline turned furiously to face them. She was breathing again, but now she felt sick to her stomach.

"Okay! One of you tell me what's going on right now!" She demanded.

Angry with Stefan, Damon waved a hand at him too sickened by the sight of him to look at him. Caroline watched as he soundlessly walked out, leaving Stefan alone in his bedroom with her.

"Seriously?" Her voice went higher as she grew upset. "Stefan… Stefan, come on." She pled. He caressed his forehead and was staring at the floor when she stormed up to him. "Stefan, look at me!"

Caroline reached out to grab his face, but she gasped as her hands went right through him. Her skin turned a smoky brownish color, seemingly turning to dust at his touch. Horrified, she was seconds away from reaching for him again but a worse thing kept her from doing so.

With a sigh, Stefan walked forward to leave the room with disregard to her, and Caroline flinched, preparing for a collision but instead… he walked straight through her. Her body was momentarily rendered weightless. His touch turned her into a cloud of mixed colors from her clothes and hair and skin, and Caroline just stood there, hands shaking, knees buckling in terror.

Stefan wasn't feeling her. They weren't seeing her. They weren't hearing her…

Because she wasn't there.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews! And thank you Thot84 for everything you said. I'm glad you are enjoying it. I wanted to keep to my story but at the same time stay true to some of the TVD universe which is why I'm writing from so many different perspectives. Also, all of the relationships in the Vampire Diaries are altered because frankly, I don't like any of them on the show right now...haha. But the relationships and friendships I like and that will be in this story are Stefan/Caroline, Damon/Elena, Luka/Bonnie, Jules/Brady, Jeremy & Tyler, and Jenna/Alaric. I'll try to update soon. Thanks again for reading everyone. I appreciate all of your comments. :)  
_

9

Jules rushed to meet Stevie and Jackson at a secluded waterfall at the park. He called her just shy of twenty minutes ago asking her to meet him alone. She left Brady in town without telling him where she was going at Stevie's request. Something was wrong, she could hear it in his voice over the phone. He had always been like a little brother to her in every way, and if something was up she had no problem with meeting him.

When she pulled up next to his beat up Impala way past due for a car wash, she spotted him leaning against the passenger side door. Jackson was laid out on the hood and staring up at the sun peeking through the clouds as though it didn't hurt his eyes. She parked her car next to his and exited the vehicle. Stevie was already leaping over the front corner of the hood to meet her.

"What's up?" She asked. "Everything okay?" She peered over his shoulder at Jackson. He stood up on the hood of Stevie's car and then jumped down sluggishly to head over to them.

"Yeah but I've been thinking," he said and scratched his forehead nervously. "I think we need to leave town." His voice was eager.

"I know," she responded. "I've been talking to Brady all night about it and I think we can all agree that it's not worth any more of our lives. We've already shed too much blood in this town and with how close the warlock is with the witch and there being _another_ vampire here…" She shook her head.

"And there's always us not knowing where the hell the doppelganger is," Jackson needlessly added. Jules sighed, accepting that as the cherry on top of an overall disappointing week.

"I completely agree," Stevie said. "_But_… I think we should leave like now. Like this _instant_. I mean, you're totally right about the Salvatores and everything and I just have a bad feeling and I think we should leave."

Jackson was nodding at his side which Jules was quick to notice. Suddenly she was getting a whole other vibe from Stevie. He was a little too anxious about leaving, and Jackson was never a good liar even with his mouth shut.

Jules glanced between them. "What's… going on? Are you two okay?"

Stevie groaned. "Uh, for the moment, Jules," he said. "I just _really _want to get out of here."

"You said that." She nodded at him.

He lowered his head to break free of her gaze, and Jules narrowed her eyes on him. He didn't just call her to tell her that. By now, they were all ready to put Mystic Falls in their rearview mirror, but these two were acting strangely. In all the years she had gotten to know him, there was only one thing that usually sent Stevie over the edge. Guilt.

Jules tilted her head to examine Jackson now. He didn't look guilty of anything, but he was being unnaturally quiet this afternoon. Something else she'd come to learn about these two. Jackson had a big mouth, and if he wasn't using it he was afraid something might slip. Jules lifted her head as the realization dawned on her. Something was definitely up.

She knew they were all eager to return home after discussing what their next move should be last night, but neither of them seemed this distraught at the time. Maybe she hadn't paid close enough attention then, and this was exactly why Stevie had asked her to come. He _knew_ that she would figure it out and Brady would have too had he been there with them. No. Her initial thought was not entirely correct. This wasn't why he asked her to come. It was why he asked her to come alone.

Stevie didn't want Brady to know something. The 'what' was the question.

"_Stevie_." She warned, returning her eyes to him. "_What _is going on?"

When he didn't respond, a hundred considerations surfaced in her head. What happened between yesterday morning when she had last soberly spoken to him up until now? _She _went after Bonnie Bennett only to discover she was dating the son of the warlock that single-handedly subdued them the other night. _Brady _left to the Gilbert house to capture the doppelganger but another vampire made off with her before he could. And Stevie… He went after the sheriff's daughter. Caroline Forbes.

She never thought to ask what happened there. Last she saw, he was following her from one of her friend's parties and she just assumed that after that he left the girl alone because their three-way conversation with Brady ended that way. With them calling everything off.

"Nothing," Stevie weakly denied. "I told you. I don't feel safe here anymore, and I would like to keep all of my delicate puppy-dog organs intact, wouldn't you? I hear vampires like ripping hearts out." Stefan and Damon did kill most of their friends that way the other night. Strange fetish…

Jules wasn't satisfied with his answer. "What happened with the Forbes girl last night?" She questioned. Stevie noticeably swallowed and Jackson kicked dirt around his shoes.

Just the reveal she was looking for. A person didn't necessarily have to own up to a crime for the truth to become apparent to a jury. And right now? They were giving her additional reason to distrust them every second they stood there lying to her. Had they never heard of a tell? Stevie had more than a few.

"What do you mean?" He said, his fingers crawling in and out of the pockets of his jeans. "I told you I ran into Jacks when you guys told me to stay away from her. So I did."

"Right," she pondered. "But I was already talking to Brady about Elena when you called him…" Jules gravely locked eyes with Stevie. "Why did you call him?" He chuckled but it wasn't the kind of sound that came out of a very happy person.

He shrugged. "I was just checking in. I wanted to make sure you guys were all right."

"We're big kids." She didn't hesitate to continue. "We can take care of ourselves. I'm sure you know that." Jules stepped toward him in warning. "Why did you _call _him, _Steven_?" He lifted his head at the unfriendliness in her voice and turned to share a somber look with Jackson.

The other werewolf was looking back at him with glaring eyes. She could practically see every word they wanted to say without them having to say it. Something _had _happened. There was no use in denying it anymore, and she could see they were both starting to realize that.

Hesitant, Stevie opened his mouth. "I…" Jackson held onto his eyes for a moment longer, but the instant Stevie looked away he fell victim to Jules' threatening glare. "I didn't mean to!" He exclaimed. "I mean he didn't mean to!" He pointed at Jackson, and he growled at his friend's loose tongue.

Jules uncrossed her arms. "You didn't mean to do what?" She pushed. Stevie laid his hand out to encourage a confession out of Jackson.

"Tell her," he said but Jackson didn't say anything. Jules waited for one or the other of them to fess up, and the impatient shock waves she was emitting made Stevie cringe. "Tell her!" He demanded.

"I killed her," he said at once. She met his eyes. Jules lost her breath as his words took a few seconds to sink in. She felt sicker than last night, an instant headache in the back of her head.

"_What_?" She managed lowly. They could sense the fury in her tone and looked at each other. "You what-you did _what_?"

"It was an accident," Jackson went on. "She bit me and I… I lost total control over myself. If I could change it-" He lowered his eyes, ashamed of himself but Jules was not so forgiving.

"You _can't_… _change _it…" She said through her teeth. Stevie rolled his shoulders to try and rid himself of the tension, but Jules looked worse than angry. She looked out-of-her-mind concerned and it was wearing on him. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

"Yes." Stevie sighed heavily. "We're sorry. _Terribly_… so. Now we have no chance of breaking the curse."

"That's not the problem, Stevie!" They looked up at her and she motioned between them. "After what happened with Elena last night I don't doubt they already know what we're up to. Her _friends _are going to come _looking _for her!"

Two unfocused figures stepped into her line of sight behind them, and she looked over their shoulders to see who it was. She stepped back and at once, Stevie and Jackson turned to see what she was looking at. But not what. Who. It was Stefan Salvatore and another fowl-smelling vampire at his side. They were walking to them through the trees. Perhaps their choice of location would have been safer if it were in a more public area. Surely they wouldn't try anything in front of humans.

Jules felt the need to run, but at the same time she could not abandon her friends. Obviously the vampires wanted something, otherwise they would not have been approaching in such a calm manner. No use in running from an inevitable meeting. They were fast, but without a full moon, older vampires were faster. They would eventually catch up. She stood her ground, grabbing Stevie by the arm and forcing him close to face her. His eyes were round.

"Find Brady," she told him. "We're leaving. Go. Both of you." Stevie hesitated, holding onto her arm protectively. She was just as much family to him as he was to her. She gripped his arm. "_Go_."

She pushed him toward Jackson and together they fled the park to find Brady without arguing. Jules knew best. She was older and more experienced. They trusted her with their lives, which was why they ran as fast as they could and never looked back. Brady would probably give them hell for that, but he would understand. He wasn't the only one always looking out for the pack.

Jules turned her back to the vampires to make sure her friends kept going and when they did, she inhaled sharply. When Stevie was around, she felt strong and brutal toward those who would do him harm, but when he wasn't all she had was herself to look after and she wasn't so good in the self-importance department.

"Stefan," Jules said and turned back around to face them. They were a lot closer now, and she was really hoping they didn't know about Caroline yet. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Jules." Stefan greeted her evenly. He didn't look like he wanted to rip her heart out, but the other one she wasn't so sure about. "What are you still doing in town?"

She forced a half-smile. "I get that a lot. We all do. My friends and I. I mean," she shrugged. "The ones who are still alive." Her smile completely faded and Stefan lowered his head nodding.

"Listen. Jules. I'm sorry. About the other night. I wish it hadn't happened the way it did," he said. She glowered at him, feeling the sentiment was insincere.

"Yeah, well. It'll take a little more than your _apologies _to bring back my friends," she said joylessly. "We can't all come back from the dead." The other vampire cleared his throat and she noticed his eyes darken on her. He was smiling inside and a small bit on the outside too, which infuriated her.

Stefan continued. "I realize that. And you may never come to accept this but… I truly am sorry for your loss." With the other one at his side obviously pleasured by the death of her friends, she found that extremely hard to believe.

Jules crossed her arms. "Of course you are," she sighed, moving on quickly. "Why are you here, Stefan? We're leaving like your witch friend so kindly asked. Not quick enough for you?"

"Not nearly," the other vampire said. Jules looked him over and he did the same. Something about having his eyes all over her made her uneasy. He didn't look like he took too well to her kind, and the prejudice in his gaze sent a cold rush through her.

"We don't want any trouble," Stefan said but a wicked glint in his friend's eyes was saying just the opposite. "But you and your friends need to stay away from Elena. We know one of you was at her house last night." Jules shot her eyes back at Stefan as it instantly hit her hard who this man was with him.

"It was you," she said curiously and looked back at the man. "You're the one who took Elena from her house." She wished she had realized it sooner. Brady said it'd been an older vampire there, and this guy was definitely older. She could tell just by the arrogant way he held himself.

He smiled, impressed by her deduction. "Allow me to introduce myself." He flattened a hand over his abdomen and bowed slightly to her. "I'm Elijah. And you're Jules. The one I distinctly remember telling to leave the night you attacked Ms. Forbes."

This was not good. He knew the warlock. It seemed every vampire in this town had a witch friend. Was that a rule of theirs or something? No entering Mystic Falls without a witch plus one?

"We _are_," she said harshly. "Leaving."

Elijah spoke low with cruel intent. "I would be happy to escort you and your friends out of Mystic Falls if for some reason you are having trouble," he said. "I mean. The ones who are still alive." The whites of Jules' knuckles began to show as the hardly obscured threat behind the statement made her blood grow cold.

"No," she said flatly. "That won't be necessary. We're leaving right now. And you won't have to worry about us anymore. Because we're never coming back to this cemetery." Stefan nodded once at Jules appreciatively, and she did not say anything further.

"Good," Elijah accepted. "Make it quick."


End file.
